Rise of Apocalypse
by StaindRedGlass
Summary: STORY 23: The FBI forces Gibbs to help apprehend an extremely dangerous prisoner who managed to escape. A beautiful new agent joins the team. And McGee deals with an aftermath of internal struggles due to the reason of his resignation from NCIS.
1. Chapter 1

Here's the 23rd story in my series. If you haven't read the other stories, then I advise you to not proceed until you do. This is a series. It runs in sequence. To understand certain things (especially where Jamie came from), it's best to just start at the beginning. This series is kind of like my very own NCIS season 4. As of this point, the series consists of: story 1 = A Link to the Past (comes in 3 parts)… story 2 = Wrong Place, Wrong Time… story 3 = Second Job… story 4 = Daughters… story 5 = A Personal Vendetta… story 6 = Bless the Children… story 7 = Eyes of the Condemned… story 8 = Disturbing Affection… story 9 = No Man Left Behind (story that introduces Chioke; aka Kid)… story 10 = Finger Swap… story 11 = Imperfect Heist… story 12 = The Color of Skin… story 13 = Death to the Jedi… story 14 = Brotherly Love… story 15 = For the Love of a Child… story 16 = Devil's Playground… story 17 = Forced Alliance… story 18 = Firing up the Screws… story 19 = Close to Home (story that introduces Julianna)… story 20 = Last Place on Earth… story 21 = The Two of Me… story 22 = Saw… story 23 = Rise of Apocalypse (current story). Hope you enjoy it.

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***Monday***

***Chapter 1***

Sometime after rush hour, a team of heavily armed FBI agents arrive at the Federal prison located in the D.C. area. Once inside the prison, they walk to solitary confinement where their prisoner waits to be transferred.

The massively-sized prisoner called, Apocalypse, sits alone in his heavily reinforced cell. He sits in a daze of staring at the wall, which he's been doing for hours.

"Walk up sleeping beauty." FBI Agent Ellison looks through the window of the door. He also pounds on the door. "Stand up and assume the position."

Apocalypse's head slowly turns to face the door. His long hair hangs over his cold eyes and expressionless face. The creepiness of the prisoner sends a shiver down the agent's spine.

"Get up and assume the position." Agent Ellison demanded. "Now!"

The prisoner stands up. He approaches the door. Agent Ellison opens a hole in the door by sliding a panel back. Apocalypse sticks his arm through the hole. The agents on the outside of the door remain very cautious as they secure his large arm within a specially-made contraption.

Once the contraption is in place and the prisoner's arm is secure, a nurse sticks a syringe into a bottle. She fills the syringe to a pre-determined level. The nurse approaches the prisoner's secured arm. The shear size of the arm in front of her is intimidating as it's unlike anything she's ever seen. She carefully sticks the needle into a vein and pushes the plunger.

Apocalypse slams on the door. The impact creates a startling loud noise that echoes through the corridors.

"Ah!" The nurse jumps, as do everyone else from the sudden, unexpected noise. She looks at the window to the door only to see the prisoner staring back at her. The cold eyes of Apocalypse send a shiver down her spine.

"Fun's over!" FBI Agent Johnson slams on the door.

"Finish up, Nurse Bennett." Agent Ellison said.

The nurse cautiously moves back to Apocalypse's secured arm where the syringe is hanging out of. She takes hold of the syringe and pushes the rest of the contents into the prisoner's arm.

They wait a couple minutes for the extremely strong sedative to take effect over the prisoner.

Apocalypse shakes his head slightly as his vision blurs a bit.

"Give him the next dose." Agent Ellison said.

The nurse sticks another syringe into the prisoner's secured arm. The second dose is only a strong sedative as two of the other runs the risk of killing him.

"Release his arm." Agent Ellison commanded.

They release Apocalypse's arm from the contraption. He retracts his arm back into the cell where he collapses to the floor within seconds.

Time passes.

Apocalypse sits against the side of the transport van. He's in shackles and sleeping from the sedatives he was given in the prison. Agent Ellison is sitting next to him while Agent Johnson is sitting on the other side of the van.

"What happened to his hand?" Agent Johnson asked of a grotesque sight of the prisoner's left hand.

"He used to be housed in the Last Place on Earth; the prison that was recently shutdown." Agent Ellison started. "During the last days, there was a prison riot. He and some other prisoner were in the kitchen fighting. Apoc's hand was on the stove and the prisoner turned it on. That's the result of burning flesh."

"It looks nasty."

Not too long after the brief hand conversation, Agent Johnson becomes worried. The worry is the product of a motion he thinks he caught a glimpse of but is unsure about.

"I think he's awake." Agent Johnson said.

"You worry too much, Johnson." Agent Ellison chuckled. "He was given two doses of a sedative. One of which was much stronger than the other. There's no way he's waking up before we arrive at his new home."

"What if he does?" Agent Johnson worried.

"Look…" Agent Ellison pounds his fist into Apocalypse's chest.

"Shit, don't do that!"

"If he was awake, do you think I would've gotten away with that? He didn't even lift his head. You know why… Cause he's out cold." Agent Ellison said. "Now stop worrying."

A minute passes. Apocalypse's left pinky finger moves slightly; though the agents cannot see it due to the angle at which they're positioned.

Suddenly, Apocalypse thrusts his right arm to the side with a considerable amount of force; breaking the shackles. He quickly grabs Agent Ellison by the jaw, digs his fingers in and rips it out. Blood gushes out from Agent Ellison's jawless head.

"Aaahh!" Agent Johnson yelled as he grabs his sidearm. He swings his arm forward to point the weapon.

Apocalypse quickly grabs Agent Johnson's wrist; preventing him from being able to point the gun. Every bone in the agent's wrist breaks as the prisoner squeezes it. With his free hand, the prisoner grabs the agent by the throat.

The fear in the agent's eyes is nothing more than a weakness to Apocalypse. It doesn't invigorate him or anything. He feels nothing from it. Killing isn't about the fear in the eyes of the victims. It's about destroying the weak. And fear is one of many weaknesses.

Apocalypse pulls his arm back. With a massive amount of force, he slams Agent Johnson against the side of the transport van. The massive force causes the van to tip over.

The side of the van impacts with the pavement of the street and slides against it at fifty miles per hour. The van slams into a couple parked cars and turns into the street where an SUV rams into it.

While the transport van is stationary on its side, a group of people approach to check if anybody is hurt. The doors to the back break off the hinges and project about twenty feet down the street. The crowd halts as they're frozen in shock at the massively-sized prisoner who emerges from the van. Within seconds, the eyes of the crowd focus behind the prisoner; at the bloody mess he left inside the van. Three people vomit while half of them run away screaming. One person dials 911.

Apocalypse disregards the crowd. He walks around to the front of the van.

Inside the driver's area, two FBI agents are bruised and bleeding from the impact with the vehicles. Apocalypse kicks the windshield in. He grabs one of the agents and pulls him out. The other agent reaches for his sidearm while lying inside the van. As the agent reaches for the weapon, Apocalypse places his foot into the vehicle and onto the agent's head. In one quick thrust downward, the agent's head bursts like a watermelon.

The final agent, the one Apocalypse pulled from the vehicle, slams against the van. The force of the impact due to the strength at which he was thrown causes internal bleeding. The agent remains leaning against the van in pain. The prisoner grabs the agent's right arm and places his foot against the agent's chest.

A woman screams as the prisoner rips the man's arm out. She watches in terror as the prisoner places his hands on either side of the man's head. The woman faints as the man's head is crushed.

After killing the last agent of the prisoner transfer, Apocalypse turns and walks away from the chaos of the area.

Police arrive at the scene not too long after Apocalypse's escape. One of the policemen sees a bulletproof vest on one of the dead bodies. The lettering across the vest reads; FBI. The policeman immediately contacts dispatch about the situation.


	2. Chapter 2

***Chapter 2***

At NCIS Headquarters, Gibbs is up in the Director's office being briefed on the new addition to his team. While Gibbs is talking with the Director, Tony and Ziva are sitting at their desks working. Ziva can tell Tony misses McGee.

"You miss him don't you, Tony." Ziva observed as she's been noticing how Tony occasionally looks at McGee's empty desk.

"I don't miss Tim." Tony stated. "He was a bit shaken up after what happened three weeks ago. That's understandable. I mean… Being stuck in a situation like that and unable to see what's going on, I'd be scared too. But the decision to resign was in haste since he wasn't in his right mind. I bet Tim will be stepping off that elevator in no time."

Ziva chuckles slightly.

"What?" Tony wondered what the chuckle was for.

"Come on, Tony. We both know you miss McGee." Ziva said. "If you didn't, then you wouldn't call him by his first name. Besides, for the past three weeks you've been looking at his desk as if reminiscing."

"Alright, maybe I miss him a little bit." Tony said. "He grows on you after a while."

"That he does."

After a minute, Ziva gets up and leaves the bullpen in order to bring paperwork down to the legal department. With Ziva gone, Tony looks across the way at McGee's desk. He reminisces about the countless practical jokes he's played on McGee over the years. The jokes were always fun. But a while back, Tony was prepared to not marry Jamie unless McGee was present at the wedding.

"Hello…?" The woman standing in front of Tony's desk said to get his attention.

"Yes?" Tony snaps out of trance and looks up at the beautiful woman standing there.

"I'm supposed to report to Special Agent Gibbs." The woman stated. "This is where I can find him, right?"

"He's in the Director's office at the moment. What's this about? Maybe I can help."

"Oh, I'm sure you can." Samantha smiles flirtatiously at him. "My name is Samantha Cole." They shake hands. "I'm reporting for my new assignment. We'll be working together."

The first thought to go through Tony's head is that this woman is McGee's replacement. That Tim is really gone and not coming back.

"Is that my desk?" Samantha points to the empty desk to the side.

"Yeah… I guess so." Tony said hesitantly as he's still in shock over the replacement.

Samantha Cole walks to her desk and sits down. She tries to open the drawers but they're locked.

"This desk is locked." Samantha said.

"Hold on." Tony said as he stands and opens the file cabinet to get the key. After finding the key, he walks to the desk and hands it to her. As he gives her the key, their hands briefly touch. The smoothness of Samantha's hand is amazing. "Wow, your hand is really smooth."

"Thank you." Samantha said with a smile. She places the key into the upper right drawer. "This key isn't working."

"That drawer has always been a pain-in-the-butt." Tony leans down, across the front of Samantha and takes hold of the key. "You have to jiggle it a bit."

With Tony's body directly in front of her, Samantha dismisses the drawer in order to check him out.

"There we go." Tony said as the drawer opens.

"Tony!" Ziva exclaimed.

Tony becomes slightly startled by the shouting of his name. As he pulls back in order to look at Ziva, his arm inadvertently rubs against Samantha's chest without realizing it.

"If there's anything else I can help you with, just let me know." Tony said. He walks away.

"Wow..." Samantha muttered softly to herself as she practically drools while watching Tony walking away.

Tony approaches the windows where is Ziva is waiting.

"Who is she?" Ziva asked.

"She's apparently Tim's replacement." Tony replied.

"McGee's truly gone." She said in a sad manner. There's a brief moment of silence between them. "You should stop flirting with her."

"I wasn't flirting."

"Gibbs would not see it that way."

"I was just helping her out."

"Are you sure you weren't flirting?" Ziva asked. She waves in a friendly manner to the new agent. By the way the new agent looks in the direction, Ziva could definitely tell. "Yeah, you flirted."

"I love my wife." Tony stated.

"I know you do. But by the way she's looking at you, I'd say you certainly did flirt."

The two of them look toward the new agent. The expression on Samantha's face said it all. Tony turns back.

"Oh no…" Tony realized what he inadvertently did due to being in shock over McGee. "I'm totally screwed."

"Want me to tell her you're gay?" Ziva receives a glare from Tony. "Only trying to help."

Gibbs exits from the Director's office and walks down the stairs. Ziva and Tony enter into the bullpen and sit down at their desks. Seconds later, Gibbs enters into the bullpen. Samantha stands up.

"Special Agent Gibbs, I'm…" Samantha begins to say as she holds her file out for him.

"I know who you are." Gibbs said.

"I look forward to working with you, Agent Gibbs."

"Let's get one thing straight, you don't work with me. You work for me."

"Understood."

Gibbs takes her file. He walks to his desk, drops the file in the trashcan and leaves the bullpen. Samantha sits back down.

"He doesn't like me." Samantha said as her observation.

"It's not that he doesn't like you, it's…" Ziva begins to say.

"You're right, he doesn't like you." Tony stated.

"What Tony meant is that you didn't arrive at the best time. We recently lost a member of the team three weeks ago…" Ziva begins to say.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Samantha sympathized. "I was unaware one of your team members died."

"Tim's not dead." Tony said as he looks up from his desk. There's a brief pause. "He resigned."

"Agent McGee's resignation came as a shock to all of us." Ziva said. "And we were unaware of a replacement until you showing up."

"I need to speak with Gibbs." Fornell said as he approaches. "Where is he?"

"He was here a second ago." Tony answered.

"Get him back here." Fornell demanded. "It's urgent that I speak with him." He looks at Samantha. "Agent Cole, what are you doing here?"

"I work here." Samantha responded.

"Taking a step down the food chain will be a nice addition to your resume." Fornell said sarcastically.

"Hey!" Gibbs exclaimed to get Fornell's attention.

"We need to talk, Gibbs." Fornell said.

"Conference room." Gibbs said as he motions for Fornell to follow.

Gibbs and Fornell walk to the elevator.

"You used to be FBI?" Tony wondered.

"Yes." Samantha answered.

"Maybe you were right, Tony." Ziva said. "Gibbs does hate her."

"So Gibbs doesn't like FBI." Samantha commented.

"Not particularly." Tony replied.

"Great…" Samantha said.

Inside the elevator, Gibbs flips the emergency stop switch. The elevator stops.

"What do I owe the visit, Tobias? You want your agent back." Gibbs said. "You can have her."

"I know you don't like the fact that McGee is gone. He was a good agent. But you should give Agent Cole a chance. She's a very good agent, Jethro. You're lucky to have her." Fornell said. "We tried to get her to stay with our agency, but she didn't want to."

"I thought you were here for a reason."

"There's a situation we need your help with."

"What situation?"

"A prisoner broke out of our custody fifteen minutes ago."

"Another one." Gibbs chuckled slightly. "First Shawn Benson and now… Oh man…" He shakes his head. "The FBI has a knack for losing prisoners lately."

"This prisoner broke himself out off custody, Jethro." Fornell stated. "The four agents escorting him are dead."

"It's not my problem, Tobias."

Gibbs flips the emergency stop switch. The elevator starts moving again. Fornell now flips the switch. The elevator stops.

"It was Apocalypse, Jethro." Fornall said. "His escape is a complete disaster. And we need your help."

"How do you expect me to help?"

"You have experience with him."

"I was undercover as a guard for roughly three days, Tobias." Gibbs said. "I didn't stand a chance when I actually went up against him. He almost killed me with a stove. I can give you a copy of my report, but that's about all I can do because it's not my problem."

"I didn't want to have to bring this card out. But you leave me no choice, Jethro." Fornell said. "We're still sorting out the mess from The Last Place on Earth. Thanks for the extra work, by the way." He started. There's a brief pause. "We have video surveillance and testimony from a guard that you aided the prisoner in the murder of the prison Warden. I don't know what happened or why you were there. I don't care to know. But if you ask me, the Warden got what was coming to him." He said. "With exposing the prison you really pissed off someone in the FBI, Jethro. That person is pushing for an investigation." He continued. "The FBI is willing to make both disappear for your cooperation." There's a brief pause. "Jethro, has a friend I'm asking you to help. As an agent, I'm telling you to help or I'll be forced to take you into custody. You would be in custody until we can determine if the evidence is more than circumstantial. And I don't think you'd want to risk that."

"I guess I have no choice."

"You really don't."

"There's still something you're not telling me, Tobias."

"We're to apprehend the prisoner by any means possible." Fornell stated. "Your help I don't mind. It's the help of the other person my director wants that I have a problem with."

"Oh no…" Gibbs sighed in disbelief. "Tobias…"

"My director's exact words; to catch a psycho, you need a psycho." Fornell said in reference to Gibbs' brother Jared. "He'll be working directly with the FBI. So he'll have minimal contact with you and your team."

"You be careful of him, Tobias. He's not to be trusted."

"You think I want to work with your brother? If I had my way, the deal that exonerated him from all the murders he committed would've never happened. I would've thrown the book at him."

"Don't be afraid to shoot him if he screws with you." Gibbs said. He flips the emergency stop switch. The elevator moves again.

"I'll plea temporary insanity."

"And I'd vouch for the amount of stress you've been under."

"It's good to know you have my back, Jethro."

The elevator door opens. They step off and walk toward the bullpen.

"What's up, Boss? The FBI needs our help finding Waldo?" Tony joked. Samantha covers her mouth to refrain from laughing at the joke.

"No." Gibbs replied. "They need our help finding Apocalypse."

Tony's eyes widen. His facial expression changes to that of shock over the seriousness of the situation. The recollection of how frightening Apocalypse is sends a shiver down his spine.

The situation is as serious as it comes. An extremely dangerous psychopath escaped from FBI custody and is loose on the streets. Until Apocalypse is apprehended, no one in the D.C. area is safe.


	3. Chapter 3

***Chapter 3***

McGee lies in his bed tossing and turning while half asleep. He hears a noise, as if someone else is in the apartment. McGee reaches to the nightstand and opens it. The weapon is gone; the NCIS issued sidearm is no long in his possession. The doorknob to the bedroom turns. McGee's heart races as he's too scared to even move from the bed.

The door opens. McGee sighs in relief as he sees Jamie at the door.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." Jamie said as she enters into the room. She sits on the bed.

"How did you get in?" McGee wondered.

"I knocked on the door but you never answered. I got worried and picked the lock."

"What we went through three weeks ago, it… I don't know. For some reason I can't stop thinking about you." He said. There's a brief pause. "Jamie, I…"

"Shh…" Jamie places her finger against McGee's lips to quiet him. "It's alright, Tim."

Jamie leans forward and gently places her lips onto his. As they kiss, both of them start to take off the clothes of the other. After a minute, Jamie shoves McGee down. She places one leg over McGee and sits on top of him.

Jamie moans softly as McGee penetrates inside of her. McGee puts his hands on Jamie hips and the two of them begin having sex.

After a minute, Jamie slows down to a full stop. She looks down at McGee.

"Oh my God…" Jamie said in the realization that what's happening is wrong. "We shouldn't be doing this."

"Why not?" McGee asked.

"Because..." Jamie begins to say. McGee blinks for a second. When his eyes open, he sees the creepy carnival puppet from the Saw movies directly in his face. "Cause I want to play a game." The creepy voice said.

McGee wakes up with his heart racing. He breathes heavily; almost to the point of causing hyperventilation. McGee throws the bed covers back only to find he wet the bed.

"Dammit…" He sighed.

McGee gets up, turns his body to the side and sits on the edge of the bed. Of the recurring dreams he's been having the past three weeks, the one with Jamie occurs the most. And it always ends with the creepy carnival puppet.

A sudden excruciating pain in his left shoulder almost causes him to pass out. After fixing the sling that supports his arm, McGee recalls the incident of how the injury occurred. Almost losing his left arm was probably the most frightening part of the incident three weeks ago. Since then, the shoulder has had multiple surgeries to repair the tendons, muscles and connective tissue. And it hurts him constantly.

McGee takes a deep breath and grabs the bottle of prescription pain medication from the nightstand. He opens the bottle and stuffs two pills into his mouth. Lastly, he takes the glass of water on the nightstand. With a big gulp of water, McGee swallows the medication.

Meanwhile, at NCIS Headquarters, the team has only just started discussing the situation of the escaped prisoner. Fornell hands a flash drive to Samantha.

"Who may I ask is Apocalypse?" Ziva wondered as she never heard of him until now.

"Only one of the scariest psychopaths of all-time." Tony answered. "He's like a Terminator version of Halloween's Michael Myers." He notices the confused expression on her face. "Nevermind… He's a really really big, scary guy."

"Apocalypse…" Samantha begins to say as she puts information up on the plasma screen for the others to see. "…born October 23rd, 1971 in the city of Eugene, Oregon. He was a disturbed boy who often sought refugee in his comic books. It's suspected he was abused by his parents as a child. When he reached puberty, the boy all the other kids made fun of grew to a massive size. In 1988, he murdered his entire family the night of Christmas Eve. He was seventeen-years-old at the time." Pictures of the gruesome crime-scene are now on the plasma. "He also broke into every house on his street and murdered those families as well. The rampage lasted for seven years up and down the western seaboard; California, Oregon and Washington… He was finally apprehended in 1995 where it took twelve bullets to bring him down; ten of which were in the torso."

"Case study?" Gibbs muttered softly to Fornell.

"She wrote her thesis on him." Fornell replied.

"The only physical weapons he's ever used are large objects; desk, stove, refrigerator, furnace, motorcycle, etc. But the preferred weapons of choice are his hands." Samantha continued. "In 1986, a new Marvel comic's villain debuted; Apocalypse. He became infatuated with the villain." Pictures of the boy's room are now on the plasma.

"Whoa…" Tony said in surprise at the pictures of the boy's room.

"When he had the psychotic break in 1988, he took on the persona of his obsession by becoming Apocalypse." Samantha said. "He also adopted the merciless philosophy of the Marvel villain; only the strong survive and the weak must be destroyed. It's his mission to cleanse the world of the weak so the strong can prevail. But the man is driven by the underlying force to find the only surviving member of his family; Marien Greyson. He'll stop at nothing until the remaining member of his family is dead. And he'll destroy anything and anyone who gets in his way."

"I thought you said he murdered his entire family." Ziva stated in confusion.

"He did." Samantha said. "Apocalypse is so out of touch with reality that he believes Marien Greyson is still alive. And it's true, Marien is."

"But that doesn't…" Tony begins to say.

"Apocalypse is Marien Greyson, DiNozzo." Gibbs stated.

"That makes perfect sense why kids made fun of him and he eventually snapped." Tony commented. "The man has a girl's name."

"In the years of trying to apprehend Apocalypse…" Fornell begins to say. "…Twenty-seven cops, twenty-two state police and eighteen FBI agents were killed. Not to mention the large amount of civilian casualties." There's a brief pause. "The prisoner is not to be taken lightly or underestimated in any way." He looks to Samantha. "Show them."

"The following footage is from a surveillance camera outside a parking lot in Seattle, Washington, 1994." Samantha presses the play button. Everyone watches the video playing on the plasma screen. "An adult, male grizzly bear wandered into Seattle at night looking for food. The bear's one mistake was attacking Apocalypse."

They all watch as Apocalypse fights with the bear. After a three minute fight, the bear's left arm is broken. They watch as Apocalypse manages to get on the bear's back. He grabs the mouth of the bear and opens the jaw like a clam until it breaks.

"Ugh…" Ziva is disgusted by the video.

"Pfft! I can do that too." Tony commented. Gibbs smacks him on the back of the head. Samantha looks on him wondering what that was about. "It's a sign of affection." Tony said with a smile.

"Would you consider it to be affection if I put my boot up your…" Gibbs begins to say.

"Shutting up, Boss." Tony said.

"Evidence is going to pile up with this one, Gibbs. As will victims..." Fornell said. "Half of all evidence and victims will be sent here. I expect you to share all findings." He continued. "We need to find Apocalypse by any means possible. I don't care how or who does it. But we need him off the streets."

"DiNozzo…" Gibbs tries to get his attention. Tony looks at him. "Call your friend Lewis Matheson." He walks toward the back stairs.

"What are you doing, Gibbs?" Fornell asked.

"You said we're to apprehend the prisoner by any means possible." Gibbs said as he stops on the back stairs on route to the Director's office. "I'm going to get Lewis temporary authority to carry a gun."

Gibbs continues up the stairs. Fornell is slightly confused as to who Lewis Matheson is as he's never heard the name before.

"Who is Lewis Matheson?" Fornell asked in curiosity of not knowing who the person is.

"A highly trained, ex-Navy SEAL who is now a civilian." Tony replied as he dials Lewis' number. "He can help. Besides, he has much more experience with Apocalypse than we do."

While Tony contacts his friend. Gibbs talks with the Director. The others discuss aspects of the case as they wait to get fully operational on the NCIS side.


	4. Chapter 4

***Chapter 4***

A man steps out from a stairwell in a five story parking garage. The parking garage is located not too far away from the scene of Apocalypse's escape. He's on his cell-phone with a friend.

"I'm on my way to the car." The man said. "I had to walk up the stairs because the elevator isn't working. Can you believe that? For the amount of money it costs to park here, you'd expect a working elevator." There's a brief pause as he listens to what the other person says. "You're right, I should complain about it." The man approaches his car on the fourth floor. He notices a large person standing in front of his car looking out at the city. "I'm going to have to call you back. I think I just found something else to complain about."

The man closes his phone.

"Hey, mister…?" The man tries to get the attention of the large person. He walks between his car and the SUV to the left. "Son-of-a-bitch!" He exclaimed when noticing the dent on the hood of his vehicle. "Did you do this?! Did you dent my car?!" The man yelled. There's no response. "Answer me!" The man grabs the person whose back is facing him.

Apocalypse grabs the man by the arm.

"Agh!" The man screamed in pain as the massively-sized escaped prisoner squeezes his arm; breaking the bones.

Apocalypse slams his free hand on the hood of the car. The hood dents inward as if a boulder fell on it. The escaped prisoner lifts the man into the air by the arm.

"HELP!!!" The man yelled.

The man slams into the SUV after being thrown. Apocalypse approaches, grabs the man, lifts him up and rams his head into the car window. The window breaks upon impact and the man acquires several cuts. The man falls to the floor, between the car and the SUV.

Apocalypse steps over the man. He walks to the other side of the SUV. The escaped prisoner leans down; places one hand underneath the vehicle and the other against the frame. He lifts the driver's side of the SUV upward with hardly any difficulty. As the man lies on the floor between the vehicles his eyes widen at the sight of the SUV tilting in his direction.

"AAHHH!" The man screamed as the SUV falls on top of him.

The man is crushed and silenced by the weight of the vehicle. Blood pools around the body underneath the SUV. Apocalypse walks away from the scene.

At her home in Alexandria, Virginia, Nurse Bennett puts her bag down in the TV room. She turns the television on and walks in the direction of the kitchen in order to fix herself a cup of coffee. A special news report is on almost every single channel.

"…What exactly happened here today?" The reporter asked of a witness.

"I was getting a cup of coffee as I usually do around this time." The witness started his story. "Suddenly, I heard a loud noise. At first I didn't know what it was. So I went outside. And that's when I saw a van on its side bashing into parked cars at about forty miles per hour. I dropped the cup of coffee and ran to go help since I'm CPR certified." He continued. "The van stopped after an SUV rammed into it. Seconds later, the back door to the van flew off the hinges. What I saw next is indescribable. I almost threw-up at the sight inside the van." The witness said. "Then of course there was that massive guy... I've never seen a man of that size before. The guy was pure muscle. His arms were like tree trunks. His hands were bloody and he showed no emotion at all. And his eyes… Oh, I'll never forget those eyes. His eyes are like the cold depths of the ocean. It's like every evil thought inside his head enters into your eyes and sends a shiver down your spine. That's one scary dude if you ask me."

Inside the kitchen, Nurse Bennett drops her cup. The cup of recently poured coffee falls to the floor and breaks. She runs into the TV room and turns the volume up.

"The prisoner, known as Apocalypse…" The reporter begins to say.

"Oh no…" Nurse Bennett sighed in concern for her mistake.

"…Is considered to be extremely dangerous." The reporter finished his sentence. "A tri-state 8pm curfew is officially in affect as of right now. And all schools in the tri-state area will be closed until further notice. The authorities are urging everyone to stay away from the man known as Apocalypse. Do not attempt to approach him. The authorities also urge residents of the tri-state area to remain in their homes and only go out if it's absolutely necessary. And if you happen to see the escaped prisoner, call 911 immediately…"

As the reporter continues the story, Nurse Bennett runs upstairs. She begins packing a bag as quickly as she can. Within five minutes, Nurse Bennett runs out the door to her car.

Nurse Bennett walks into the train station in Alexandria, Virginia. She quickly puts her head down as a police officer looks to be scanning the crowd. With the police presence, her anxiety rises. She makes her way to the line to purchase a ticket.

After almost two minutes, she approaches the window.

"How may I help you?" The teller asked with a smile.

"I'd like a one-way ticket to Florida, please." Nurse Bennett stated.

After buying her ticket, Nurse Bennett makes her way to the train. She's careful to keep herself under the radar from the authorities in the area.

Once in the train, she sits down in relief that in ten minutes the train is leaving. Nurse Bennett takes a deep breath and closes her eyes.

"I wouldn't get too comfortable, Ms. Bennett." Gibbs said.

Nurse Bennett opens her eyes to see two agents standing there. Fornell grabs the nurse's train ticket.

"This is non-reimbursable." Fornell rips the ticket in half. "Stand up, Ms. Bennett. You're coming with us."

Nurse Bennett stands up and turns around. Fornell places handcuffs on her. They escort the nurse off the train.


	5. Chapter 5

***Chapter 5***

At NCIS Headquarters, Nurse Bennett waits alone in one of the interrogation rooms. She knows why she was brought in and how much trouble she's gotten herself into. From the observation room, the team can see how nervous and anxious she is.

"I love this part." Tony stated. "Look at her squirm. She's knows what's coming."

"Her duck is cooked." Ziva said.

"Goose is cooked." Tony corrected her.

"Why a goose?" Ziva wondered. "A duck can be cooked too."

"I guess you have a point."

The new agent, Samantha Cole, is also in the observation room with them. As she stands next to Tony, her hand wanders and gently touches Tony on the butt.

"Whaa!" Tony becomes startled and his hands slam against the two-way mirror as he plunges forward. The noise startles Nurse Bennett in the interrogation room as she doesn't know what it is or who did since she cannot see anyone.

"What's wrong with you?" Ziva asked.

"I think a bug crawled up my pants." Tony said. As he turns around, he tries to not make eye contact with Agent Cole.

"And it bit your butt." Ziva added.

"Yeah, something like that." Tony said. "Excuse me." He walks out the door.

"He startles easily." Samantha commented.

Gibbs and Fornell enter into the interrogation room. Nurse Bennett looks up at them anxiously because she knows she screwed up.

"By the look on your face, I'd say you know you're in a lot of trouble." Gibbs stated as he sits down across the table from the nurse.

"Was it your intention to help Apocalypse escape?" Fornell asked.

"I think I want my lawyer." Nurse Bennett said.

"Ha…" Gibbs chuckled. "She wants a lawyer, Fornell. I guess this interrogation is over."

"Like hell it is." Fornell said. He looks to Nurse Bennett. "Do you have any idea what you did? Right now there's an extremely dangerous psychopath wandering the streets. The four agents escorting him are dead. Another victim was recently found in a parking garage crushed by an SUV. More people are going to die. And you tried skipping town."

"We can think of several charges; aiding and abetting the escape of a prisoner, accessory to murder…" Gibbs begins to say.

"I want my lawyer."

"Didn't Al-Qaeda want Apocalypse freed due to the destruction he can cause?" Fornell asked of Gibbs. "I remember our people intercepting that message."

"Yeah, I remember that message." Gibbs acknowledged.

"Since Al-Qaeda wanted Apocalypse released as a form of terrorism, that means you don't get a lawyer, Ms. Bennett." Fornell said. "You get a one-way ticket to Gitmo."

"I'm not a terrorist!" Nurse Bennett exclaimed. She begins to whimper at the thought of her mistake. "I know I screwed up. I didn't mean for this to happen."

"If you're not a terrorist then why is Apocalypse loose?" Fornell asked. "Cause I'm still trying to wrap my head around how he managed to escape."

"When we arrived at the prison, I realized I accidentally packed two of the same sedative. The bottles look exactly alike. So I thought I packed the correct sedatives." Nurse Bennett said. "I never gave him the extremely strong sedative because I didn't have it. I didn't know what to do. So I gave him two doses of the strong sedative."

"There's a reason we require him to have one dose of the extremely strong sedative!" Fornell yelled as he slams his hand on the table. The sound of the pound startles the nurse.

"I didn't think it would make a difference." Nurse Bennett muttered.

"Didn't think it would make a difference…" Fornell shakes his head. He opens a file and shoves pictures of past victims in her face. "Look at these and tell me it doesn't make a difference!"

"Oh my God…" Nurse Bennett turns away and vomits due to the gruesomeness of the couple pictures of Apocalypse's past victims.

"You just had to do that didn't you?" Gibbs shakes his head at Fornell. "Next time we're doing this in your interrogation room."

"I didn't mean for this to happen. It was an accident, I swear." Nurse Bennett cried. "I would never help a monster like him."

"You unfortunately did, Ms. Bennett." Fornell said. "And five people already paid the price because of it."

Nurse Bennett hangs her head in sorrow as Gibbs and Fornell leave the room. After the door closes, Gibbs and Fornell look at each other.

"They always crack at the sound of Gitmo." Gibbs said.

"And here I thought Gitmo is a trendy vacation resort." Fornell said. "Am I wrong?"

A cell-phone rings. There's a brief pause as Gibbs answers the call. It's a teacher from Julianna's school contacting parents to pick-up their children since schools are closing. After a minute on the phone, he closes it and looks at Fornell.

"I have to go pick-up Julianna from school. I'll be back in a while."

"No problem." Fornell said as he understands Gibbs has an obligation to the eight-year-old girl. It doesn't take rocket scientist for anyone to realize how important Julianna is to Gibbs. Though Gibbs may not have permanent custody of her, Fornell hopes the social worker eventually grants it to him.

Gibbs arrives at Julianna's school. Around the perimeter of the school are police officers. The safety of the students is a priority to everyone. Gibbs approaches the door. A police officer stops him.

"Hold on, Sir." The police officer said.

"I'm here to pick-up Julianna Sullivan." Gibbs stated. "I'm her guardian."

"Name?"

"Leroy Jethro Gibbs." Gibbs said. "Here's my ID." He hands over identification.

The police officer uses a computer and looks up the information on the student. He sees the information matches.

"Go ahead, Sir." The police officer said.

Gibbs walks down the hall in the direction of Julianna's classroom. Upon approaching the door, he looks through the window. Julianna is sitting at one of the tables with a couple other students; her friends. The girls are laughing and giggling. The sight brings a smile to Gibbs' face.

Julianna looks up toward the door. A huge smile stretches across her face at the sight of Jethro; her temporary guardian. She gets up as Gibbs enters into the classroom.

After gathering her things, Julianna places her hand into Gibbs' hand.

"Excuse me..." The teacher said as she approaches. "Before you leave, I'd like to speak with you."

"Sure." Gibbs said. He looks to Julianna. "Give us a minute." Julianna walks away. The teacher takes him to the side. "What is it you want to speak with me about?"

"I'm concerned about Julianna. Has she been acting out at home?"

"No, why?"

"She seems to be having trouble adjusting to being back in school after losing her mother." The teacher said. "Her behavior has been unacceptable. She doesn't want to do the work. She doesn't pay attention. She disrupts the class. And she shoved a student to the ground today."

"At home she's happy. She's doesn't act out at all."

"But for some reason she's struggling here at school. I thought if I gave it some time, her behavior would subside and return to normal." The teacher said. "Julianna's always been a good student and I don't want to see her fall like this."

"I'll take care of it." Gibbs looks toward Julianna who is sitting nervously on a chair. "Time to go."

Julianna grabs her bag. Gibbs gently takes hold of her hand. They exit from the classroom.

"What do you want for lunch?" Gibbs asked.

"Pizza." Julianna said with a smile. There's a brief moment of silence as she notices the police officers down the hall near the entrance. "What's going on, Jethro?"

"You trust me to keep you safe, right?"

"Yes." Julianna answered.

"A dangerous prisoner escaped from FBI custody today." Gibbs said. "The FBI needs my help in order to find the prisoner. So I have to go back to work."

"Well, I'm not scared." Julianna said as she's not afraid since she knows Gibbs will keep her safe no matter what. She recalls the red-haired lady appearing to her when she was near death after the car accident. The red-haired lady, Shannon, said Gibbs would protect her. And she trusts in that.

"Tony has to pick-up Chioke." Gibbs said. "He should be at NCIS by the time we arrive." He notices a smile stretch across Julianna's face. It's a dead give-a-way that she's excited to spend time with her friend.

The two of them walk to the car and get in. Gibbs plans on talking to Julianna about her behavior in school later. But as for right now, they drive in the direction of a good pizza shop before going to NCIS Headquarters.


	6. Chapter 6

***Chapter 6***

McGee limps into the bathroom of his apartment due to the leg injury. He steps in front of the mirror and stares at himself. The person he sees in the mirror isn't who he remembers. It's as if he doesn't recognize his own reflection.

"I want to play a game." A whisperer of the creepy carnival puppet said.

Within seconds of hearing the voice that's been haunting him, his shoulder starts hurting. McGee closes his eyes and wishes for the torment of what happened to stop. But the pain immediately becomes unbearable.

"Ahh…" McGee cried in pain. He grabs the bottle of pain medication and stuffs one in his mouth. With a handful of water from the sink, he swallows the medication.

After taking a deep breath, McGee carefully takes his clothes off. He takes the sling from his left arm and replaces it with a disposable sling which he uses in order to bathe. He limps to the shower.

The water turns on and McGee steps inside.

The warm water running over his body is soothing. It's exactly what he needs at this point. For fifty minutes, McGee takes a nice long shower.

After taking a shower, he steps out and grabs the towel. He carefully dries himself as best he can without disrupting his hurt shoulder. But due to other injuries, he just wraps the towel around himself instead. He decides to let himself air dry.

McGee limps out of the bathroom. He limps into the other room where his computer and typewriter are. Sitting on the chair in the room is Jamie.

"What are you doing here?" McGee wondered.

"I came to see how you're doing." Jamie replied. "I apologize for letting myself in, but you weren't answering the door. And I couldn't hear the shower from outside. So I got worried." The sight of McGee's injuries breaks her heart as she feels it's her fault. It takes all her strength to hold the tears from showing.

"I'm doing fine." McGee said as he limps into the kitchen.

"You're not doing fine, Tim." Jamie said as she stands up and walks toward the kitchen.

Inside the kitchen, McGee limps his way around in trying to prepare something to eat. As he reaches for a plate in the upper cabinet, his towel comes loose and drops.

"Dammit!" McGee slams his hand on the counter due to the embarrassment of his bare ass showing. He glances downward at the towel on the floor. There's no way he can reach the towel due to his bending ability being hindered by injuries. He stands there facing the counter so Jamie cannot see any more than she already does.

"I got it." Jamie said as she approaches. She picks up the towel and hands it to him. Afterwards, she gently places her hand on his right shoulder as a way to comfort him. "It's alright, Tim. Don't worry about it." There's a brief pause. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"I was going to make pancakes."

"Pancakes it is."

As Jamie gathers all the necessary stuff for making pancakes, McGee re-wraps the towel around himself. He limps to the table and sits down.

"If you're here to get me to reconsider my resignation…" McGee begins to say.

"I'm here as your friend, Tim. Nothing more." Jamie stated. "Your decision to resign from NCIS was your choice. And you know I understand why. I'm not going to sit here and try to convince you otherwise. I respect your decision, you know that."

McGee sits at the table in silence and thinks about what the last three weeks have been like. The actual incident was bad enough, but the past three weeks have been just as bad for him.

"I keep hearing the voice of that carnival puppet." McGee opened up to her. "I haven't told my sister. I really haven't told her anything about what happened."

"Opening up about what happened will help, Tim." Jamie said.

"I don't know how." McGee said. "I used to be in control of my life. But now, fear is controlling me. I'm having nightmares. I hardly get any sleep these days. And I'm in constant pain." He sighs. "I'm not like you, Jamie. You were brave, quick-thinking under pressure…"

"I was scared out of my mind, Tim." Jamie said as she turns around to look at him. "I may have appeared to be handling it, but inside, I was a mess. You were my responsibility. Your life relied on me. And I blew it. I blew it big time. It breaks my heart to know what happened to you. All of your injuries are my fault because I failed to get you through that mess safely."

"You didn't fail, Jamie." McGee assured her. "It's because of you I'm alive. And it's because of you that I still have my arm. I would've never thought to climb the netting."

Jamie puts two pancakes each on separate plates. She walks to the table and sets one plate in front of McGee. She carefully sits down on the other side of the table with her plate.

"How's your side?" McGee asked after noticing Jamie's facial expression upon sitting down.

"It's uncomfortable when I sit or lie down." Jamie responded. "And I keep getting this sharp pain in my arm every time I bend my fingers in making a fist." She referred to the other major wound of her right arm. She decides to skip the information of her head wound with the concussion and hairline skull fracture she suffered.

"I might need another surgery." McGee said. "My shoulder doesn't seem to be healing properly. Did you tell Tony what happened?"

"I was so depressed when I miscarried a while back. I really wanted the baby. So did Tony. But the incident at the bank caused me to loose the child. For three weeks I shut everyone out; my husband, my father, everyone. I regret not talking to Tony during that time. Tony is my husband. I should've never shut him out because we were both hurting over the loss. I vowed to myself to never make the same mistake twice." Jamie said. "So yes, I talked to him about what happened. I didn't tell him everything though. But I told him enough." She continued. "My dad doesn't try because he knows if I want to talk about it then I will. Which I have. Both have helped a lot. And that's why you need to talk to someone too. If you keep what you're feeling bottled up inside then that fear which is controlling your life will keep doing so. It helps to get it all out. I'm here for you if you want to talk about what happened and how you're feeling. But if not, then you should seek professional help. I say that as a concerned friend, Tim. You know I love you. I just want to see you well."

"Thanks, Jamie." McGee thanked her. "I think I really needed to hear that from a friend."

Jamie smiles as she's glad her words meant something to him. The two of them finish breakfast. Jamie finally leaves and McGee limps into the bedroom to lie down.

Meanwhile, at a local school, a mother picks up her child since schools are closing until further notice. She returns to work downtown after picking up her child. Once at the beauty parlor, the eight-year-old boy becomes hungry.

"Can I get some M&M's?" The boy asked his mother.

"Take five dollars from my purse." The mother said while she works on a customer's hair. "Go to the deli, get the M&M's and come directly back here."

"I know, Mom." The boy sighed.

The boy gets a five dollar bill from his mother's purse. He leaves the beauty parlor and walks down the block to the deli. After buying a package of M&M's, he exits from the deli. Instead of walking back to the beauty parlor, he walks further down the street to the McDonald's in order to get French fries.

The boy leaves the McDonald's with French fries in hand. He walks slowly in the direction of the beauty parlor because he needs to finish the French fries so his mother doesn't see.

A van slowly drives down the street.

"Hey, check it out." The passenger said as he points at the young boy who is alone.

The passenger and driver look all around to see if anybody is looking for the child. They watch as the child stops in front of an alley.

While in front of the alley, something shiny at the other end catches the boy's eye. The boy enters into the alley.

"This must be our lucky day." The driver said.

"Come on, let's get him." The passenger said in excitement over the thought of kidnapping the child.

The van enters into the alley and parks near the entrance in order to block the visual of the street. No one will be able to see them abduct the boy.

The child walks further and further into the alley. He continues eating his French fries without the knowledge of what's behind him.

The two men exit from the van and walk into the alley following the boy.

The young boy passes a dumpster. With passing the dumpster, the sight of the boy catches the eye of another person. Seconds later, the two men pass the dumpster.

Apocalypse stands up from behind the far side of the dumpster. Neither the boy nor the two men even saw him lying behind the dumpster when they passed. The escaped prisoner follows the two men who are following the young boy.

Apocalypse taps both men on the shoulder. The men turn around. The escaped prisoner quickly grabs both men by the throat. Both of them are silenced by the crushing of their throats. Lastly, he crushes the entire neck of each of the men; their necks now look like permanently crushed stress balls. He stashes their dead bodies in the dumpster. Then he looks down the alley at the child. With the intention of killing the child, the escaped prisoner walks in the direction.

The boy leans down and picks up the shiny object. It's not as interesting as he hoped so he tosses it. The boy turns around and bumps into Apocalypse. The boy looks up in shock at the size of the man in front of him. He's never seen anyone of this size before. The escaped prisoner looks down at him.

"Whoa…" The boy said in amazement. There's a brief pause as he holds up the food. "You want some of my French fries?" He offered to share.

Apocalypse reaches his hand out and places it on the young boy's head.


	7. Chapter 7

***Chapter 7***

Near the end of the alley, which is cut off from sight due to the van, the young boy and Apocalypse sit down on the hood of an old car. The boy, whose name is Taylor, already saved his own life by starting conversation; a conversation that Apocalypse understands without realizing why. They sit there sharing the French fries while the boy talks.

"I wish they would stop. Those kids are just mean." Taylor said. "I'm sick of them calling me Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift is a girl, like I told you. I'm not a girl. Do I look like a girl?"

Apocalypse shakes his head from side to side, indicating 'no' as an answer to the question.

"I don't know what to do." Taylor said. There's a brief moment of silence as they continue eating French fries. "Maybe you can scare them for me or something. Then maybe they'll stop making fun of me. I live in Smoke Rise. It's a small commu…Com... I don't know how to say that word. There's a park. They're usually at the park in the afternoon." There's another brief moment of silence as Taylor stuffs another French fry into his mouth. He looks up at Apocalypse. "You're a good listener. But I should get going. Mom is going to worry."

The boy stands up. Apocalypse raises his arm out in order to give the boy the remaining French fries.

"I had enough. You can have the rest." Taylor said. "It was nice talking with you." He said, even though Apocalypse never said a word.

Taylor walks away to go back to the beauty parlor before his mom realizes he's missing. Apocalypse remains sitting on the hood of the old car eating what's left of the French fries.

Tony arrives at NCIS Headquarters after picking Chioke up from school. They exit from the elevator on the third floor and walk to Tony's desk. Samantha Cole watches as the two of them enter into the bullpen. A smile breaks across her face at the sight of the happy child. Tony pulls a chair to his desk.

"I'll set you up with a coloring book." Tony said.

'You color with me?' Chioke signed with his hands as his father sits down.

"Sure, but only for a couple minutes." Tony replied. He takes out a Curious George coloring book and a box of crayons from his desk. "Then I have to go back to work. Or else Trip-G will be upset."

"Trip-G?" Ziva wondered as she stands up in order to walk a file to the Director's office.

"Triple G… Grumpy Grandpa Gibbs." Tony answered with a grin on his face. Ziva shakes her head as she walks away because she knows Gibbs will eventually find out.

With Ziva gone, Samantha watches Tony and Chioke color in the coloring book. From the smile on the child's face, she can tell Tony is a good father to him.

Gibbs and Julianna arrive at NCIS Headquarters with a pizza. As they step off the elevator, the ding of the elevator catches Chioke's attention. He looks up and becomes excited at the sight of his friend Julianna. Chioke stands up and runs to her.

"Chioke!" Julianna exclaimed in excitement as she hugs him.

Gibbs enters into the bullpen. The scent of the pizza catches Tony's attention. Tony licks his lips in hunger. Gibbs sets the pizza down on his own desk. Seconds later, Chioke and Julianna enter into the bullpen.

"Hi Tony." Julianna waves to him.

"Hey Julie." He greeted her back.

Gibbs takes a slice of pizza and leaves the bullpen as the children eat their lunch at his desk. While Tony works, he occasionally looks in the direction of Gibbs' desk to make sure there's a slice left for him. Tony's stomach growls at the sight of the pizza. He really wants lunch.

"School was alright today. I was glad to get out early though." Julianna said while Chioke slowly chews his food. "Let's find the Llama Song." Chioke becomes excited as Julianna opens a web browser on Gibbs' computer. He moves in closer. She googles the Llama Song and clicks on the first link. Julianna turns the volume up and the Llama Song starts.

While the song plays, Chioke claps and Julianna sings along with it. From her desk, Samantha has never been so confused in her life. The song doesn't make any sense. She looks to Tony for some type of explanation as to what in the world they're listening to.

"Don't even ask." Tony said. "They love it."

After a couple minutes, the Llama Song turns off as Gibbs enters into the bullpen.

"We need to work, so I need you two to go to the lounge." Gibbs said.

"Alright." Julianna said. "Come on Chioke."

The two of them grab their school bags and other things to keep themselves occupied. The pizza is left on Gibbs' desk for the time being.

With Gibbs once again gone from the bullpen and the pizza unattended, Tony stands up. He looks in all directions as he slowly moves closer and closer to Gibbs' desk. Upon reaching the destination, Tony licks his lips at the sight of the pizza box. He opens the lid and takes a slice. With the slice just inches away from his mouth, Tony receives a smack to the back of the head.

"The pizza is for the kids, DiNozzo." Gibbs said.

"They're not going to eat all of this." Tony commented. After a couple seconds, he puts the slice back due to Gibbs glaring at him.

Julianna runs into the bullpen.

"Forgot the pizza." She said as she grabs the pizza box. Julianna notices the expression on Tony's face; as if he's hungry. "You want a slice?" She opens the box to allow him to take one.

"Uh…" Tony hesitates at the sight of the pizza he wants so badly due to being hungry. "Thanks, but I'll pass. The pizza is for you and Chioke."

"Your loss." Julianna said. She shrugs her shoulders and leaves.

Tony watches as his one chance at lunch walks further and further away. His stomach growls again; he realizes he should've been quicker in his pizza stealing.

"That was so nice of you, DiNozzo." Gibbs said sarcastically.

Tony walks back to his desk. A minute later, Lewis Matheson steps off the elevator. Gibbs immediately walks in the direction in order to acquire him. The two of them walk to the Director's office leaving Tony and Samantha alone in the bullpen.

"You're good with Chioke." Samantha commented.

"He's a good kid. I love him." Tony said. "Adopting him was the best thing I ever did."

"How long has he been with you?"

"Roughly half a year now." He replied. "I met him in Nigeria. We had a case. And Chioke was in the village we were at. The paperwork was quickly pushed through the right channels and I ended up taking him home with me."

"Adjusting to life in America must have been tough for him."

"Yeah…" Tony chuckled as Samantha stands up and walks to his desk. "Simple things we take for granted are things which were very difficult for him."

"Maybe you can tell me some stories over dinner." Samantha said with a smile. She sits on the edge of his desk and makes sure her legs are in his view.

"That… Umm…" Tony said nervously. "I'm married." He lifts his left hand to show his wedding ring. "So dinner is out of the question."

"Alright… We can go straight to sex."

"Whoa…" Tony said in surprise. "You're subtle."

"I'm a woman who knows what she wants."

"Yeah, umm…" Tony's never been so anxious to get away from a woman in his entire life. He hears the ding of the elevator. "My wife is here." He gets up and walks toward Jamie who just stepped off the elevator. They approach each other. "I'm so glad to see you." He gives his wife a kiss and hug as her arrival saved him.

"Who is that standing by your desk?" Jamie wondered.

"She's Tim's replacement." Tony answered. He leans closer to her in order to whisper in her ear. "That lady is sexually harassing me."

Jamie almost busts out laughing but she holds it in. The thought of Tony being sexually harassed by a woman is just too funny, especially since he used to be a womanizer.

"It's really not funny." Tony said.

"Oh, you're actually serious about her sexually harassing you." Jamie said in shock of it being true.

"Yes, I'm serious." He said. "Can you do something? Help me out here."

"You flirted with her, didn't you?"

"I may have accidentally flirted with her, I don't know. But I need your help."

"Alright, I'll talk to her."

"I love you." Tony said. "Thank you."

Tony and Jamie enter into the bullpen.

"Hi, I'm Jamie." Jamie introduced herself. "I'm Tony's wife and also Gibbs' daughter."

"It's nice to meet you." Samantha and Jamie shake hands. "I'm Samantha Cole."

"It's very nice to meet you, Samantha." Jamie said. She looks to her husband. "You were right, Babe. She is beautiful."

"Wait, I never…" Tony begins to say. Jamie looks back to Samantha.

"He's just a little shy about our open relationship." Jamie stated.

"We don't have an open relationship." Tony said in defense. "She's just messing with you."

"We've been looking for a partner for a threesome if you're interested."

"No, we're not." Tony said in defense. "And we haven't…"

"I'll think about it." Samantha said.

"Great." Jamie said with a smile. "I should get to work. Forensics is calling for me. I'm Abby's assistant, by the way. It was nice meeting you, Samantha."

Jamie walks away. She looks back at Tony as she continues walking.

'Thanks a lot.' Tony signed with his hands.

'Next time don't flirt with another woman.' Jamie signed back.

'It was an accident.' Tony signed. There's a brief pause. 'Flowers and a box of chocolates to make up for it?'

'And I'll give you dinner at Bruno's to make up for the threesome comment.'

'Deal.'

'I'll make the reservations.' Jamie signed. 'I love you.'

'Love you too.' Tony signed back. He turns around.

"So… Threesome." Samantha said with a smile.

All Tony can think is that this is going to be a long day. More than anything, he wishes McGee was here because he's in a heap of trouble with the new agent.


	8. Chapter 8

***Chapter 8***

A man goes around the kitchen of a restaurant emptying the trashcans. After replacing all the trashcans with new plastic bags, he walks to the back door. With three bags in hand, he exits into the alley. Upon exiting the door, he puts the bags down. He takes out a pack of cigarettes, takes one out and lights it up. The smooth taste of the cigarette is heavenly to the man. He takes hold of the three bags, walks to the dumpster and tosses the trash in. As he walks away, he stops. The man thought he caught a glance of something unusual in the dumpster. He approaches the dumpster. Inside the dumpster, underneath the trash he just threw in, are two dead bodies with crushed necks. The cigarette falls from the man's mouth due to the shock.

"Shit…" The man sighed.

Not too long after the discovery of the dead bodies in the dumpster, NCIS arrives to the crime-scene. They exit from the truck and gather their investigative equipment from the back.

"Tony, bag and tag…" Gibbs starts handing out assignments. "Ziva, sketches. Samantha, pictures."

"What do you want me to do?" Lewis Matheson asked.

"We're dealing with a person who knows how to avoid authorities." Gibbs stated. "And he has a knack for disappearing from a scene without a trace."

"It's hard to imagine such a noticeably large man who leaves a path of destruction can actually be hard to find." Tony commented.

"So we need you to track which direction he went from here." Gibbs said.

"If there's any trace, I'll find it." Lewis stated. He walks away in order to track which direction the escaped prisoner went.

The team enters into the alley. They approach the dumpster and begin to process the crime-scene. After glancing at the scene, Gibbs walks to the back door of the restaurant where the man who discovered the bodies has been waiting to be questioned.

As Gibbs is taking the man's statement, Ducky arrives.

"Oh dear…" Ducky said upon approaching the dumpster and looking inside. He reaches his hands into the dumpster and begins examining the bodies. "What a harsh demise, my young lads. You must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time to have bumped into who you bumped into. But don't worry lads, we'll get you out of this dumpster and cleaned up in no time." As Ducky continues to talk to the victims, Samantha is confused and wonders if Ducky needs to seek professional help.

"He talks to them." Ziva stated.

"I can see." Samantha said.

"They unfortunately never talk back. But they eventually tell me everything." Ducky said. There's a brief pause as he recalls a past case. "Well, there was one that talked back. Apparently, he wasn't actually dead. He woke up just as I was about to cut him open. It's a very interesting story…"

"TOD, Duck?" Gibbs asked as he approaches with trying to get things moving and spare Samantha a long, Ducky story.

"Roughly forty-five minutes ago." Ducky responded.

Down the alley near the old car, an object catches Tony's eye. It's the empty French fry carton; medium fries from McDonald's. Among the garbage lying around, it seems out-of-place as it appears to be recent; the grease is still moist. He snaps a picture of the evidence before picking it up and placing it in an evidence bag. Then he looks to the old car. The hood has a considerable dent as if something large was recently on top of it. It strikes him as odd so he snaps a picture of it.

"What do you got, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"Medium fries from McDonald's. It appears to be recent." Tony holds up the evidence bag. "And this dent on the hood of this old car looks odd."

Gibbs leans down to take a closer look at the dent. From the paint and rust, he can tell something recently disrupted it.

"There are some paint chips on the ground here." Tony points to the paint chips on the ground in front of the car. He snaps a picture of them. "Maybe he was sitting here eating French fries. I could go down to the McDonald's to check if they saw him."

"Eat lunch on your own time, DiNozzo." Gibbs said.

"You know, he could've killed the victims for their lunch. Even a massively large psycho gets hungry." Tony commented. There's a brief pause. "Boss, if I may give my opinion about Agent Cole… I don't think she's fit for this team. Maybe a transfer to another team would be in her best interest."

"Are you tempted by her, DiNozzo?"

"No, of course not." Tony quickly defended himself. "What I'm trying to say is, being thrown to you is like being thrown under a…" He stops.

"Under a what?"

"Under a beautiful blue sky on a warm sunny day." Tony grins innocently. There's a brief pause. "Would you believe she's sexually harassing me?" He receives a glare from Gibbs. "Thought not." He said. Gibbs continues to glare at him. "I love my wife."

"I'm keeping an eye you, DiNozzo."

Gibbs walks away. Tony sighs because the day has officially gotten worse.

After the crime-scene being processed, the team returns to NCIS Headquarters. The evidence is immediately brought to the Forensics lab for Abby to process.

With having no leads and Lewis losing Apocalypse's trail, the team enters into the Forensics lab.

"You all must not have anything to go on." Abby stated at the sight of everyone entering into her lab. "That's okay, because we have something." She said with a smile of pride.

"What do you got, Abs?" Gibbs asked. He approaches the middle computer desk where his daughter Jamie is seated. He kisses her on the forehead.

"You go first Jamie." Abby said.

"We were going over the files Agent Fornell sent. And after the last victim, something doesn't make sense." Jamie stated. "Apocalypse escaped here killing four victims." A map shows on the plasma with a red dot to indicate the location. "The fifth victim was killed in a parking garage here." Another red dot shows on the screen. And a line appears to connect the two points. "The sixth and seventh victims were killed in the alley here." A red dot and connecting line appear. "In the last hour, Agent Fornell sent information about another victim. And this is where the pattern doesn't make sense." The last red dot and connecting line appear. "Take this and compare it to years ago." Past patterns now show on the screen next to the recent pattern.

"The pattern became erratic." Ziva stated.

"Something happen between the alley victims and the most recent victim."

"We need to figure out why he changed direction." Gibbs said as he's trying to figure out why. The past pattern shows Apocalypse never strayed far from a single direction. But now, he has.

"We already figured that out." Abby said cheerfully. "Well, kind of. It's certainly more than what you had before. Which, what you had before really isn't much to begin with."

"Abs…"

"Tony was right." Abby gets back on track. "The McDonald's fries were recent. There are two sets of fingerprints on the carton. Neither belong to the alley victims. So you were wrong about Apocalypse stealing their lunch, Tony. So I guess that technically only makes you half right. Not that your explanation couldn't be plausible. It's just the evidence doesn't support…"

"Abs!" Gibbs exclaimed to get her back on track.

"The first set of fingerprints belongs to Apocalypse, no surprise there. But the second set of fingerprints is smaller in size." Abby stated. "And I do mean smaller than adult size. It definitely wasn't an adult."

"Are you trying to say the French fries belonged to a child?" Gibbs asked.

"You're missing a witness, Gibbs." Abby said.

"Apocalypse may have changed direction due to that child." Jamie commented. "The only question is; why?"

"That doesn't make sense." Tony said in confusion. "What does it matter if a witness got away? There were tons of witnesses when he escaped. And their statements all say he basically disregarded them."

"I don't think the kid is a witness." Samantha stated. "Well, he is a witness but I don't think in the way we believe it to be." There's a brief pause. "I know this isn't within Apoc's state-of-mind, but what if he and the child were sharing the French fries."

"Apocalypse share? I don't think that's even possible." Tony said.

"Apoc is about destroying the weak so the strong can prevail." Samantha said. "A child is weak. But this child wasn't killed. What if the child managed to save his own life…"

"By sharing his French fries...?" Ziva is confused.

"No, by saying something that Apoc managed to relate to." Samantha said. "It may be a far stretch, but I think the child may have a name which other kids make fun of him for. So Apoc related to it and they ended up sharing the French fries."

"It's possible, Gibbs." Abby said. "The French fry carton shows no indication of being grabbed from someone's hand. When someone grabs something from another person's hand, there will be smudged fingerprints. There's no smudging on the carton at all."

"There's also no creases or dents to the carton." Jamie added. "Though, it's also possible the child gave him the French fries and ran away before he could be killed. But Apocalypse was too hungry to bother chasing him. Because there's no indication the child stuck around. The only evidence of the child is the fingerprints on the carton."

"Samantha, I want you to follow your theory." Gibbs said. "Tony, Ziva… I want you to assume the child is in danger. We have to figure out who the kid is." Gibbs said as the child might be in danger since they have no idea why Apocalypse changed direction.

Apocalypse's deviation from directional pattern is bizarre. The erratic change of direction is cause for concern since they really have no idea as to possible directionality now. All it leaves is questions which they don't have answers to. And the only theory is something which is far fetched, but plausible nonetheless.


	9. Chapter 9

***Chapter 9***

During the night, Gibbs is down in his basement working on the boat. It's what he and Jamie usually do together. But Gibbs works on it alone sometimes since Jamie has a responsibility to her husband and son. They always find time to work on their boat.

As Gibbs uses a bench plane to shave the wood, Julianna walks down the stairs. She sits at the bottom of the stairs where Gibbs immediately notices her. He stops what's he's doing and looks at her. In her arms is Benny the Horse.

"What are you doing up?" Gibbs asked.

"Can't sleep." She replied.

"I need to speak with you about something." Gibbs said as he sits next to her. "Are you happy here with me?"

"Yes." She answered without hesitation. "Are you happy I'm here?"

"I'm very happy you're here." He said with a smile. "Julianna, I'd love for this to be permanent. I'd love for you to stay here and have permanent custody of you. I'm looking forward to the day where I can sign the papers making that happen. I want that more than anything in the world right now. And I know that's what you want too. But you need to work with me on this in order for that to happen."

"I know."

"Your teacher spoke with me earlier. She told me you've been acting up in class." Gibbs said. "I'm not mad. I'm not going to punish you. I just want to know why."

"I don't know why."

"Julianna, you're not going to lose me." He said. "School is the only environment which you're accustomed to that both your mother and I have in common. Due to the common environment, you're either afraid the same thing is going to happen where you end up losing me too… Or it's too much for you to process as it reminds you that your mother is truly gone. Either way, the environment angers you inside."

"They took her away from me." Julianna said in a slightly agitated manner in reference to the car accident a couple weeks ago. "They killed my mother."

"Let that anger out." He gets up and stands in front of her. "Stand up and hit me. Don't be afraid. Just let it out."

Julianna stands and begins pounding her fists into Gibbs' gut. She hits him with all her might until she tires herself out and starts crying. Julianna sits down and her head falls into her hands, covering her face. Gibbs kneels down. He embraces her.

"I miss her so much." Julianna whimpered in his arms.

"I know you do." Gibbs tries to comfort her as she cries. He's glad she finally got the anger out. It's something Julianna really needed to do.

Meanwhile, across town, Apocalypse lurks in the shadows concealed by the darkness of an unlit street. His eyes focus on a bar with a row of motorcycles outside of it. The only thing he has eaten all day is the French fries eight-year-old Taylor shared with him. That and the cheap breakfast the state provided while in prison waiting for his transfer.

Inside the biker bar, a couple men are playing pool, darts and drinking like there's no tomorrow. The front door busts open as Apocalypse enters. Attention is immediately drawn to him.

"Well look at this big boy." A man at the pool table said.

"I think he's lost." Another man commented.

"Maybe we can help him find his way." A third man said.

"Isn't he the prisoner who escaped this morning?" A fourth man wondered.

"Yeah, I believe he is." A sixth man said.

"He doesn't look so tough." A seventh man commented.

"We're going to fuck you up big boy. Not even your mommy will be able to…" Before the eighth man could finish, Apocalypse grabs him by the face and squeezes. "Aaaahhh!" The man cried.

The third man hits Apocalypse's arm with a bar stool. The escaped prisoner swings his free arm toward the man. The impact causes the man to fly into the air and land on a wooden table, breaking it. He then shoves the eighth man away from him.

"Oww, my face…" The eighth man cried in pain while on the floor.

Two bikers take their pool queues and attack. Apocalypse just stands there. The first pool queue smashes against his head and breaks due to the force of impact. The other pool queue breaks against his side. The escaped prisoner is unfazed by both attacks. He grabs the two bikers and throws them.

The bikers quickly regroup. The eight of them charge at Apocalypse from all angles. Seconds later, a couple of the bikers fly in all directions; they bash against the walls and into chairs and tables.

Apocalypse grabs the third biker and forcibly rips his jaw out. The man falls to the floor, bleeds out and dies. The sixth biker takes out a knife and tries to stab him. The escaped prisoner grabs the man's arm, twists it, thrusts his foot into the man's side and rips the arm out. Apocalypse tosses the arm to the side as the man falls to the floor and bleeds out.

With two bikers dead, Apocalypse approaches another who is hurt on the floor nearby. He lifts his foot.

"No! Please no!" The second biker pleaded for his life. In one quick smash of the foot, the man's entire rib cage crushes into his heart and lungs causing an instantaneous death.

As the eighth biker is trying to stand, Apocalypse grabs his head and slams it into a support column. The force of impact causes the man's skull to shatter causing a quick death.

A chain whips against Apocalypse's back. The escaped prisoner turns around. From the look in the escaped prisoner's eyes, the fourth biker can tell he's screwed. The biker whips the chain again but Apocalypse catches it with his hand. Before the biker can let go of the chain, a jolt pulls him directly into the free hand of the escaped prisoner. In a couple forcible maneuvers, the man is in a headlock. Apocalypse thrusts his knee into the man's back, shattering his spinal cord. Then the man's neck breaks seconds later due to the headlock. The biker dies.

With three bikers remaining, Apocalypse grabs a table and approaches the first biker. He lifts the table above his head.

"Aaaahhhh!" The biker screamed. The table slams onto the man's face. Every bone in his face is crushed. Apocalypse slams his foot down on the table, crushing what's left of the biker's head.

The seventh biker stands up and staggers in the direction of the entrance in trying to escape. And the fifth biker stands up too. In making sure one doesn't escape, Apocalypse grabs the pool table, lifts it and throws it. The pool table smashes against the seventh biker, both of which crash through the window.

Apocalypse approaches the fifth biker and quickly pounds his fist into the man's gut. He falls to the floor. The escaped prisoner grabs the man and rams him against the wall. The force of the impact causes the man's neck to snap, bones to break and internal bleeding.

The biker underneath the pool table tries to get himself out. But he's stuck as the pool table is too heavy for him to lift. The biker panics as Apocalypse exits from the window.

"HELP!!!" The biker yelled.

The escaped prisoner leans down. He grabs the biker's jaw and squeezes it. The biker's jaw bone shatters. Then Apocalypse grabs the biker's tongue and rips it out. The blood loss is massive. The escaped prisoner breaks a leg off from the pool table as the biker chokes on his own blood. In one quick thrust, the pool table leg smashes the biker's head.

Apocalypse re-enters into the bar. He approaches the counter and reaches to the other side, grabbing the bartender who was cowering in fear the entire time. The hand of Apocalypse retracts upward, forcing the bartender face to face with him.

"Food." Apocalypse said in a creepy manner.

"In the back…" The bartender said with a shiver.

The escaped prisoner walks around the counter and enters into the back with the bartender still in grip. Apocalypse pulls the bartender toward him. He grabs the man's head with his free hand.

"Please don't kill me." The bartender cried. The escaped prisoner places his other hand on the man's head.

Silence befalls the bar as the bartender's dead body lies on the floor with a crushed skull. With now being alone, Apocalypse begins to eat whatever he can find.


	10. Chapter 10

***Tuesday***

***Chapter 10***

In the morning, McGee awakes with severely shoulder pain after having a nightmare about how the injury occurred. He sits up in his bed and reaches to the nightstand for his pain medication. The pain is so severe that he becomes lightheaded. McGee faints. As he falls to the floor, his head hits the nightstand.

An hour later, McGee awakes on the floor in a mini pool of his own blood. He sits up and feels the gash on the side of his face. The shoulder hurts a lot. He reaches up to the nightstand, grabs the bottle of pain medication and pops a couple pills. Within minutes, the pain subsides to a minimal level.

"I want to play a game." The voice of the creepy carnival puppet returns.

"Leave me alone!" McGee yelled.

"I want to play a game…" The creepy voice said again.

McGee becomes angry. He stands up and knocks over the nightstand. The nightstand and everything on it crashes to the floor.

"I want to play a game…" This time, the voice sounds faded as if it came from outside the bedroom. McGee grabs a baseball bat from the closet. He limps to the bedroom door and exits from the room.

"I want to play a game…"

"Shut up!" McGee shouted in frustration.

Thirty minutes later, there's a knock on the door. Out in the hallway is Tony. McGee looks through the peek hole. He sighs as he really doesn't want to deal with DiNozzo at this time.

"I know you're home, Probie." Tony said. "I heard you sigh."

"Go away Tony." McGee said.

"Come on, let me in. I brought breakfast."

"I'm not hungry. Go away."

"You can watch me eat." Tony said. There's no response. "I can pick the lock if you won't let me in."

Tony takes out two picks and sticks them into the lock. He jiggles the picks in effort to unlock the lock so he can enter into McGee's apartment.

"Stop it, Tony."

"Huh…" Tony sighed as he's struggling with the lock. "This isn't as easy as the boss makes it appear to be. But I'll get it eventually."

"Will you stop it?!" McGee yelled as he opens the door.

"Here you go." Tony hands him the bag of doughnuts as he makes his way into the apartment. The first thing he notices is the mess. A whole book shelf is knocked down. Books and other small items are scattered all over the floor. Even the typewriter is on the floor along with the broken computer. "Doing a little redecorating, I see"

"What do you want?" McGee asked. He closes the door since he knows Tony isn't going to just leave.

"I'm just wondering when you're coming back to work."

"I'm not coming back." McGee said as he limps into the kitchen.

"You have to come back. Work isn't the same without you, Probie." Tony said. "We got this new girl on the team named Samantha Cole. The lady keeps coming on to me and she's not afraid to do so. She's going to go Fatal Attraction me, Probie. You seriously have to come back."

"I don't care if she's sexually harassing you. If it's true, which I highly doubt it is, it's probably your own fault. And I'm not with NCIS anymore. Nor will I be returning. So stop calling me Probie." He notices Tony is poking around his apartment. "Will you stop it and leave!"

McGee limps into the other room. Tony turns around to face his ex-colleague.

"Tell me something…" Tony begins to say with being face to face. "Why doesn't anyone believe she's sexually harassing me?" There's a brief pause as he gets no response. "You have to come back. Please, I'm begging you!"

"For the last time, I'm not coming back." McGee said. "Now please leave."

"Alright, I won't ask again." Tony said. "But we're going out tonight. You need some cheering up. Just me and you out on the town."

"I can hardly walk, Tony."

"It'll be fun." Tony stated as he maneuvers to the door. "There are plenty of wheelchair accessible places to hang." He added. He exits from the apartment. "I'll pick you up around 8pm!"

"I really don't want to go out!" McGee yelled. There's no response. "Tony?!" He limps to the door. "Don't you dare rent, buy, borrow or steal a wheelchair!" There's still no response. He looks out into the empty hallway. "Tony…?"

McGee closes the door and sighs because he knows Tony is going to return around the time he said he will. He knows Tony only means well with wanting to cheer him up. Expressing feelings has never been one of Tony's strong suits, not to a colleague anyway. McGee limps into the kitchen, opens the bag Tony brought and starts eating the doughnuts.

Tony arrives at NCIS Headquarters. He's a little bit late due to making the side trip to check on McGee. The elevator door opens and he quickly sneaks to his desk.

"You're late, DiNozzo." Julianna stated from Gibbs' desk. "You should've been here ten minutes ago."

"If the boss doesn't know, then I'm not late." Tony said because other than Julianna, the bullpen is empty. He approaches Gibbs' desk. "Where is everyone anyway?"

"Abby's lab." She answered. "Maybe he will know… If I tell him."

"I'll give you a dollar if you keep your mouth shut."

"If you're going to bribe me, you shouldn't be so cheap about it."

"What do you want? A Bratz doll, a Barbie, Hello Kitty…" Tony begins to say but stops due to receiving a smack to the back of the head. "Gah… Sorry Boss."

"Don't try to bribe an eight-year-old, DiNozzo." Jamie said. She steps forward so Tony can see her.

"I knew it was you the entire time." Tony said. Chioke looks up at him with a smile. "Hey buddy." He picks up his son.

"Sure you did." Jamie gives Tony a quick kiss on the lips before sitting on the edge of her father's desk.

"Tony came in ten minutes late." Julianna said.

"And he tried to bribe you to keep quiet." Jamie said.

The girls lean closer to each other. They whisper into each other's ear. Tony can tell they're conspiring against him. Seconds later, they look at him sinisterly.

"Here are the terms of our silence..." Jamie begins to say. "I want a nice pearl necklace and she wants a Hello Kitty."

'I want too.' Chioke sighed with his hands in order to be included in the negotiations.

"And Chioke wants a Curious George." Jamie said. Chioke claps in excitement because he loves Curious George.

"You traitor." Tony said to Chioke. The boy smiles innocently. "I don't accept these terms. I have a new proposal…" Chioke squirms a bit so Tony sets him down. The boy walks to the other side of the desk near Julianna.

"Oh really... And what might your proposal be?" Jamie is interested in knowing, as are the kids.

"You can't prove I was ten minutes late. Nor can you prove I tried to bribe Julianna. I'll explain to Gibbs that you all are just conspiring to get me trouble. So you all get nothing…" Tony said. He receives a smack to the back of the head. "Gah…"

"Here are my terms…" Gibbs begins to say. "You give Jamie her pearl necklace… You give Julianna her Hello Kitty. You give Chioke his Curious George. No more coming in late. No more bribing children. No more wasting time. And you go to your desk and work or I fire you."

"I can live with that." Tony said. He walks away in order to go to his desk.

Gibbs kisses Jamie on the forehead. Immediately afterward, he kisses Julianna on the forehead. The kiss puts a smile on Julianna's face. For her, the kiss on the forehead is a reminder that she's an important part of this family, even though she isn't blood related.


	11. Chapter 11

***Chapter 11***

At NCIS Headquarters, the team works valiantly to figure out where Apocalypse is. Their efforts, even the efforts of the FBI are all coming up empty.

"Hi, I'm Special Agent Samantha Cole with NCIS." Samantha introduced herself to a person on the phone. "Is Brian Metcalf home? It's urgent that I speak with him." The person responds and puts her on hold.

"What are you doing?" Tony wondered.

"Contacting people who used to go to school with Apoc." She's taken off hold. "Yes, hi... I'd like to speak with you about a person you might have known a long time ago. Do you remember a Marien Greyson?"

Tony looks back to his own desk as Samantha's conversation continues with the person on the phone. He looks across the way to Ziva.

"Psst! Ziva…" Tony tries to get her attention. Upon getting no response, he crumples up a piece of paper and throws it at her. She looks at him in an annoyed manner. "Why is she…" The elevator dings and he notices Arthur steps off.

"Why is she, what?" Ziva wanted him to finish his sentence.

"Nevermind." Tony said. He stands up and Arthur enters into the bullpen. "It's good to see you."

"Good to see you too." Arthur greeted him with a hand shake. Chioke gets up from sitting at Gibbs' desk, runs to Arthur and hugs him. He lifts the boy into his arms.

"Thank you for watching him today, Arthur." Tony said.

"It's my pleasure." Arthur said. "I'm taking him to the National History Museum."

"All museums are closed today." Tony stated in confusion.

"I have connections." Arthur said with a smile. He sets Chioke down on the floor. "We'll have the entire museum to ourselves"

'Can friend come?' Chioke signed with his hands. Arthur looks to Tony because he doesn't understand sign language.

"He wants to know if a friend can come." Tony translated. At the sound of the word, friend, Julianna lifts her head in attention from Gibbs' desk.

'Please.' Chioke signed as he looks up at Arthur with an expression he cannot resist. Even without knowing sign language, Arthur knew.

"Chioke…" Tony tries to get his attention. "We can't expect Arthur to…"

"Yes, your friend can come." Arthur said before Tony could say another word. "But only if your friend is allowed to."

It's at that moment that Gibbs enters into the bullpen from the back. Julianna immediately looks to him in the hopes for permission to go to the museum with her friend.

"Hey Arthur." Gibbs said as he approaches his own desk.

"Can I…" Julianna begins to say.

"Enjoy the museum." Gibbs said. He kisses her on the forehead.

"Thank you, thank you!" Julianna stands up and hugs him. She lets go and with excitement, approaches the front of Tony's desk where Chioke is jumping up and down.

"Chioke…" Tony tries to get his attention again. The boy looks to him. "Take your notepad." He hands Chioke his notepad because writing is the only way he can communicate with Arthur and also Julianna. "Have fun."

'I will.' Chioke smiles happily.

The three of them walk toward the elevator. Tony can't help but watch his son walk away. It's only for the day so that the team can work without any type of distractions. Tony never likes to see his son go, but sometimes, he knows he must learn to let go. Letting go is one of the hardest things for a parent to learn. And one day, when Chioke is older, Tony knows he won't have a choice.

Not long after Arthur and the kids leaving, Fornell and Jared step off the elevator onto the third floor. The sight of Gibbs' brother Jared sickens Tony.

"Oh great…" Tony sighed.

"I'm disgusted by the sight of you too, Tony." Jared said. He looks to Ziva. "Hello Ziva. Anyone you know die in a fire lately?" He referenced the death of Ziva's son Isaac in order to get under her skin. There's no response from her except for an agitated facial expression. Then he looks to the new agent. "And who might this lovely lady be."

"Do you value your balls?" Samantha wondered. "Cause if you don't get away from me then that's what you'll be missing." She threatened him as she's well aware of the type of person Jared is.

"Feisty…" Jared said with an evil grin. "I like her. She's a keeper." He turns and looks at his brother Jethro. "Well, well… If it isn't my dear baby brother. I've been looking forward to working alongside you again. Just me and you fighting crime like superheroes. Though… I'm not much of the hero type, am I? I guess being a serial killer excludes me from the hero label. As you already know saving people isn't my forte. It's just not in my nature."

"Hey!" Fornell shouted. "That's enough, Jared."

"Working with you hasn't been very fun, Fornell." Jared stated. He looks back to his brother. "If I permanently silenced him that would take away you're one and only friend, wouldn't it?"

"I need to speak with you, Gibbs." Fornell stated. Gibbs stands up and walks around his desk. He and Fornell walk toward the back. "How on earth were you able to deal with Jared when you were forced to work with him? I just want to shoot him."

In the bullpen, Jared sits down in his brother's chair and sets his feet on the desk in a relaxing fashion.

"I could get used to this." Jared stated. He notices Ziva looking at the device around his ankle; a probationary ankle bracelet with GPS. "The FBI wants to know where I am at all times. I don't think they trust me."

"Gee, that's a surprise." Tony said in a sarcastic tone.

"Hi Jamie." Jared said as his niece enters into the bullpen. There's no response; she completely ignores him and walks to her husband Tony. He can tell she still thinks he's the one responsible for what happened three weeks ago.

Meanwhile, outside the rear gate to the small community of Smoke Rise, Apocalypse watches the security booth. A car pulls up to the gate.

"Good morning, Charlie." The woman greeted the security guard.

"Good morning, Mrs. Potter." The guard greeted her back from inside his booth. "How's the vegetable garden coming along?"

"It's coming along very well. The tomatoes are looking great." Mrs. Potter said. "I'm having a little trouble with rabbits though. So I need to go out and buy a fence."

"Yeah, those rabbits can be bothersome." He presses the button and the gate lifts.

"Have a nice day, Charlie." Mrs. Potter said.

"You too."

The car drives away. The security guard sits back down and continues reading his magazine.

The second the security guard lowers the magazine a hand crashes through the window and grabs him. Apocalypse pulls the guard out from his booth.


	12. Chapter 12

***Chapter 12***

After leaving Lowe's with a fence to put around her vegetable garden, Mrs. Potter drives directly home. She pulls up to the rare gate of Smoke Rise and notices something odd. The security guard isn't in the booth. As Mrs. Potter waits at the gate, she looks around in all directs in the hope of seeing Charlie. Unfortunately, he's nowhere to be seen. Then she notices the broken window on the other side of the booth. Mrs. Potter exits from her vehicle.

"Charlie…" Mrs. Potter said as she steps closer to the booth. "AAHHH!" She screamed at the sight of the decapitated guard inside the booth. She steps back where she bumps into something. Mrs. Potter screams again.

"What happened?" Lewis Matheson asked. He's been tracking Apocalypse all night long after the bar incident was discovered.

"Charlie is dead." She points to the booth.

Lewis steps forward and takes a quick look inside the booth at the dead body. It's definitely the work of Apocalypse. He looks back to the lady.

"I was here less than thirty minutes ago." Mrs. Potter said. "Charlie was alive. What the hell happened?! Who killed Charlie? Oh my God…" She starts wheezing.

"Calm down." Lewis places his hands on her shoulders. "Look at me." She looks up at him. "I need you to get back in your car, turn around and drive away."

"Is that escaped prisoner here?"

"Yes. Now go."

"I can't leave! My son is in the park!"

"I'll find your son." Lewis assured her. He pulls out his NCIS appointed sidearm and cocks it. Mrs. Potter quickly takes out a picture of her son and hands it to him. "I promise you I'll find him. But I need you to leave."

Lewis hops over the gate into Smoke Rise. He takes out his cell-phone and speed-dials Tony who luckily picks up.

"I have a location on the target." Lewis stated as he runs deeper into the community. "He's in Smoke Rise."

In the park, a couple children ranging from ages eight to ten are making fun of Taylor; the boy from the alley. They're all by the playground equipment where they have their victim trapped. Taylor is crying as the other children gang up on him.

"Come on Taylor Swift, sing a song for us." Josh laughed.

"Shut up Josh!" Taylor shouted.

"Looks like the little girl is going to cry." Another boy laughed.

"Let's help her sing." Josh said. He grabs Taylor by the arm and gives him an Indian burn. Taylor screams. "That's more like it! Listen to that girlie voice."

"You're such a girl!" Another child exclaimed.

Suddenly, they all hear a loud noise. They turn around to see the slide part of their playground set broken. Next to the broken slide is a massively-sized person. The sight of the massive person shocks them. Even though the massive person is scary, none of the kids can even move; they're frozen in place as they look at him.

"I'd like you to meet my friend." Taylor said as he approaches Apocalypse and stands next to him. "You better stop making fun of me or my friend is going to be mad."

"He doesn't seem so tough." Josh steps forward trying to be brave and showoff to the rest of the children.

"He's stronger then you, Josh!" Taylor exclaimed. He looks up at Apocalypse. "Show them."

Apocalypse steps forward a bit and kneels down. He places both hands on the playground set. The children wonder what the massive person is doing. The playground set is large and includes a slide, swings, tires, ropes, a small bridge and a little clubhouse.

The children watch as the entire playground set is completely unearthed and topples over. Then Apocalypse quickly grabs Josh who immediately pees his pants and starts crying. The other children scream and run away.

"Mommy!" Josh cried as the massive person lifts him into the air.

"Are you ever going to make fun of me again?" Taylor asked.

"No!" Josh cried. "I'm sorry! I'll never make fun of you again!"

"Open your eyes!" Apocalypse yelled in a creepy manner. The boy cries as he opens his eyes and looks directly into the cold darkness of the man before him.

"Put the kid down Apocalypse!" Lewis shouted. He aims the sidearm.

The escaped prisoner looks at the man with the gun. Without hesitation, Apocalypse launches the boy into the air like a football. Lewis drops the gun and runs in the direction Josh is flying in. Josh screams while he's high in the air. After reaching the peek of height, the boy quickly plummets downward. Lewis gets under the boy and catches him. With the catch, they fall to the ground together.

"You okay, kid?" Lewis asked of the crying boy.

Apocalypse grabs Lewis by the arm. His free hand pounds itself into Lewis' gut. The impact is unlike anything he's ever felt before. Then Lewis launches to the side. His back slams against a tree, as does his head. Apocalypse disregards the crying boy who is running away. He walks in the direction of the person he recognizes from the old prison; The Last Place on Earth. Lewis lies helpless against the tree as he coughs up blood. All Lewis sees are three of Apocalypse heading toward him. He tries to readjust his eyes, but it's proving to be useless. Either way, he doesn't stand a fighting chance in the current predicament. Lewis tries to crawl toward the sidearm.

Apocalypse's attention is drawn by the roaring engine of a moving car. The car is heading directly at him and within seconds, the car plows into the escaped prisoner. Apocalypse's body crashes into the windshield and over the top. Mrs. Potter slams on the breaks. The car skids a couple feet.

"Oh my God…" Mrs. Potter is frozen in place by what she just did. She ran a person over without thinking about the consequences.

Mrs. Potter hears a noise and feels the car shake. She looks in the rear view mirror only to see the massive person stepping onto her car. Fear sets in as well as shock. She tries the ignition but the car refuses to start. Apocalypse steps onto the hood and breaks the already broken windshield. Mrs. Potter screams as a hand reaches inside the vehicle.

A shot is fired.

Apocalypse's attention is drawn. Lewis is standing hurtfully with the sidearm pointing in the direction of the car. The escaped prisoner is quickly able to determine Lewis' aim is hindered due to a head injury; blood is gushing from his head.

The sound of oncoming police sirens spooks Apocalypse. Even a man like him knows when it's time to disappear. He runs away with a slight limp. As Apocalypse retreats, Lewis chases him and fires the sidearm. After an entire clip is emptied, Lewis reloads and keeps firing in the hopes of one of the bullets hitting the target.

Unfortunately, Apocalypse manages to escape from Smoke Rise and quickly disappears. Lewis returns to the playground scene as there's no way he can continue pursuit of the escaped prisoner in his current condition.

Not too long after the Smoke Rise incident, Apocalypse enters into an abandoned building. He sits down and pulls the glass from the impact with the windshield out of his shoulder and arm. Then he grabs pliers that are nearby. The pliers are the elongated type. The escaped prisoner sticks the pliers into his side and digs around. Seconds later, he retracts the pliers and holds it up in front of him. The pliers are red with blood and holding a bullet. One of Lewis' bullets hit the mark, but unfortunately the wound isn't enough to stop Apocalypse.


	13. Chapter 13

***Chapter 13***

Down in Autopsy, Ducky is working on his current guest. He pulls the needle with the thread attached as he's sowing the gash closed on Lewis' head. The doors slide open and Gibbs enters.

"How's the patient?" Gibbs asked upon entering.

"Unlike all the other guests I talk to, this one talks back." Ducky said.

"I always knew one of them would, Duck." Gibbs said. He looks to Lewis. "You saved that boy."

"Is he alright?" Lewis asked in concern.

"Josh is a little shook up from being thrown into the air. But he's fine." Gibbs answered. "He'll walk out of here with his mother because of you."

"That's good." Lewis is relieved the child is okay.

"All done." Ducky said. He cuts the thread. "I suggest you take it easy for a couple days." He notices the look in Lewis' eyes. "But I've seen that look in a person's eyes before. You're going to ignore my suggestion."

"I'm good to go." Lewis stated as he looks at Gibbs.

"I should've given you backup." Gibbs said. "Ziva will be going with you this time."

"After this escaped prisoner is apprehended, you need…" Ducky said.

"Once he's in custody or dead, I'll take it easy for a couple days." Lewis said.

"And that's doctor's orders." Ducky stated.

"Sure thing, Doc."

Up on the third floor, two sets of people are waiting inside of interrogation rooms. One set being Taylor and his mother who Tony and Samantha are watching from the observation room.

"I'm thirsty." The technician stated. "Either of you want anything?"

"No, I'm good." Samantha said. "Thank you anyway."

"Wait, you can't leave…" Tony said. The technician leaves the room.

"We're finally alone." Samantha smiles flirtatiously.

She approaches him. He backs away until he can no longer do so. With his back against the wall, Samantha doesn't stop. She presses forward. Tony puts his hand up; between his face and hers. Samantha's lips press against his hand.

"Playing hard to get, eh." Samantha said.

"I'm really not playing." Tony stated as he maneuvers to the other side of the room. "Look… You're a beautiful woman. But I love my wife. And we don't have an open relationship. We really don't." She places her hand onto him. "Ahh…" He backs away.

Samantha eventually corners him. She wraps her arms around Tony's neck and tries to kiss him, but he pulls his head as far back as he can. Then she wraps one leg around his waist. The technician returns. He stops in his tracks as both Tony and Samantha turn their heads in his direction.

"I'll come back…" The technician said as he turns around to leave the room.

"Wait! Don't close that…" Tony begins to say. But the door closes and he's alone with Samantha again. "…Door." He finished his sentence.

"Alone again." Samantha said with a smile.

Tony manages to squirm his way to freedom. Seconds later, Gibbs enters into the observation room. The two both them stand innocently as if nothing happened.

"Samantha…" Gibbs looks to her. "You're conducting this interview. Go…"

"Yes Boss." She said.

As soon as the door closes behind Samantha, Gibbs smacks Tony on the back of the head. The technician returns; he enters into the room and quickly sits down in his chair.

"Hello." Samantha said as she enters into the interrogation room. "I'm Special Agent Cole."

"Nice to meet you Agent Cole." The mother greeted her.

"Am I in trouble?" Taylor said in concern that he might have done something wrong.

"You're not in trouble, Taylor." Samantha assured him. "We just want to ask you a couple questions, is all… It would really help us."

"Okay…" Taylor said. There's a brief pause as he looks behind her at the two-way mirror. "There are people on the other side, right?"

"Yes there are." Samantha replied. She could tell Taylor is still slightly worried so she stands up and walks toward the door. "I'll show you how the two-way mirror works. Come here…" She motions for him to follow. Taylor stands up and walks to her. "On the other side of the two-way mirror is another room. It's the observation room where my boss or anyone can observe the room we're in. What I want you to do is turn the light off. Just flip the switch down. Go ahead…"

Taylor flips the switch. The lights go out. Now, Gibbs, Tony and the entire observation room is visible due to it having the only lighting.

"Whoa…" Taylor is amazed by how cool it is. He turns the light on and turns it off again. "That's neat!"

"I know, it is." Samantha agreed to the neatness of the two-way mirror.

"How are they?" Taylor asked.

"I'm Special Agent Gibbs." Gibbs introduced himself as he presses a microphone button. "I'm Agent Cole's boss." He added. "The person standing next to me is Special Agent Tony DiNozzo…"

Tony starts making funny faces.

"He's funny." Taylor laughed.

"Tony is the team goofball." Samantha said. She flips the switch turning the lights back on. "I can arrange a tour of NCIS after we're done talking. Would you like that?"

"Yeah!" Taylor exclaimed in excitement.

Samantha and Taylor sit back down at the table in the middle of the interrogation room.

"She's good." Tony said. He receives a look from Gibbs. "I meant good as in good interrogation technique. Not that I admire it or anything. I don't admire it… Or her. I'm just saying she recognized his anxiety and calmed him down. That's what I meant by good."

"DiNozzo…" Gibbs tries to get his attention.

"Yes Boss?"

"Shut up."

"Shutting up, Boss."

They look back toward the interrogation room where Samantha is already in the process of getting information from Taylor.

"After leaving the deli, I…" Taylor begins to say but stops.

"It's okay, Sweetie." The mother said to ease his anxiety from the asked questions. "Tell the nice agent what you know."

"I walked to McDonald's." Taylor finished. "I bought French fries."

"Oh, I love French fries. They're so yummy." Samantha commented. "But after you left McDonald's, what happened?"

"I love French fries too." Taylor stated. "Umm… I was walking to mom's work. I stopped in front of an alley. I saw something shiny and I went go see what it was." Taylor said. "After seeing the shiny object I turned around. And that's when I bumped into the man. I offered him French fries."

"I've seen that man before." Samantha said. "He's a bit scary."

"He was scary at first."

"Did you see anyone else in the alley?" Samantha asked. "Or was it just you and him?"

"No… It was just me and him."

"What happened right after you bumped into the large man? Did he say anything?"

"He didn't say a word." Taylor said. "I intro… In… I don't know how to say that word."

"Introduced…"

"Yeah, that's the word." Taylor said. "I introduced myself. He still didn't say a word. I thought he may think my name is a girl name. So I started to explain it's not." There's a brief pause. "Then we sat on the car and shared my French fries. I was telling him about the kids who keep making fun of me. They call me Taylor Swift."

"I'm glad none of the children were hurt. But those snotty little brats deserved to be scared out of their minds." The mother stated. "They're always making fun of my boy for no good reason."

"Well, I doubt they'll ever make fun of Taylor again." Samantha commented.

"He would've never hurt them." Taylor stated. "He scared them for me so they would stop making fun of me. He's nice… He's a good listener… And he's my friend." There's a brief pause. "I don't understand why the man at the park shot at him. He didn't do anything wrong."

"We have the information we need. Thank you." Samantha said as she stands. "If you sit tight here for a couple minutes, I'll send an Agent in to give you a tour around the building."

"Did I help?" Taylor wondered.

"Yes…" Samantha said. "Yes you did."

Samantha exits from the interrogation room where she's immediately met by Gibbs and Tony.

"I know how to takedown Apocalypse." Samantha stated.

"He connected with the boy due to the similar situation of being made fun of as a child." Gibbs said.

"Yes." Samantha said. "It's the first real human connection he's felt since… Well… Probably ever. But most likely he doesn't realize why he felt it. And that's what we need to exploit."

"Its crazy how this kid thinks Apocalypse is his friend." Tony commented. "He really has no idea how lucky he is to be alive."

"And he has no idea what Apoc is truly capable of." Samantha added.

Samantha enters into the next interrogation room where Josh and his mother have been waiting. Gibbs and Tony enter into the observation room in order to watch.

A couple minutes pass and it's nearing the end of the interview.

"When I saw him toss my Josh into the air, I freaked out as any mother would." Mrs. Potter said. "I was scared for my child. But I didn't know what to do. I saw that other man catch my son. Then that monster attacked him. It was at that point where what he did to my son fully set in. I was so angry. So I slammed on the gas pedal."

"And that's when you ran him over." Samantha said.

"Yes." Mrs. Potter said. "But he got right back up. How the hell is that even possible?!"

"Apocalypse suffers from a condition where his brain doesn't perceive pain the way it should due to signal misfiring." Samantha stated. "Let's say you or I was to be stabbed in the stomach with a knife… On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the most painful… That stab wound would definitely be a ten. But for Apocalypse… It would be a two… Three at most… Which to him is hardly anything at all."

"Oh my God…" Mrs. Potter said in surprise as she realizes he hardly felt being run over.

"It's not just his strength that makes him very dangerous. It's his perception of pain." Samantha commented. "He can take a hit and keep going."

After the final interviews are done, both sets of people are escorted to the elevator where they meet. Tony watches from his desk. The mothers basically ignore each other as they try to civil about the whole thing.

"I'm sorry, Taylor." Josh apologized for his own behavior. "I'm sorry for making fun of you all the time." He holds his hand out.

"It's okay." Taylor said as he accepts the apology and shakes Josh's hand.

"Do you want to come over and play Mario Kart?"

"Sure." Taylor replied. He looks up at his mother. "Can I go to Josh's house to play Mario Kart?"

"Yes you can."

"I'm Special Agent Manny." An agent introduced himself. "I'll be taking you and your son Taylor on the tour around the building." He looks to the side at the other set of people. "You're welcome to join if you want."

"Oh no, I don't want to impose." Mrs. Potter declined. She doesn't want Taylor's mom to feel uncomfortable.

"Join us, Margaret." Taylor's mom said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Alright then…" The agent said. "Since we're here on the third floor, this is where we'll start."

As the agent starts giving them the tour of NCIS, Tony can't help but smile at the irony. Apocalypse kills people emotionlessly. But he managed to help a child without the intent to do so. None of the children were hurt. It would've been a different story if Lewis didn't show-up at the park when he did. But now, the boy who always made fun of Taylor actually apologized and invited him over to play a video game. And earlier in the day, the team found out the two people Apocalypse killed and stashed in the dumpster were convicted kidnappers. It's ironic that the best thing to ever happen to Taylor was bumping into Apocalypse. The boy really has no idea how lucky he truly is.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: **I apologize for the update delay. I don't like keeping readers waiting too long, but I'm not a person who likes the holiday season. Christmas is the most depressing time of the year for me. So it's been rough getting this chapter completed.

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

***Chapter 14***

Three men enter into an abandoned building after stealing a car and robbing a store. They use the abandoned building as a hideout. Upon entering into the building, they scream happily at their decent score of roughly seven hundred dollars.

"Hey, shhh…" The first man said at the sight of the blood drops on the floor. "Blood…" He points down at the drops. "We have an intruder."

"Shit..." The second man muttered. "Yo dawg… If whoever's blood that is, is still here then that means a witness."

"Or a thief." The third man stated.

"You hid our stash, right?" The first man asked.

"Of course I did." The second man replied. "I ain't an idiot, dawg."

"Let's cut the bullshit and see if this person is still here." The third man said.

They walk further into their hideout with following the trail of blood drops. The blood drops lead them to an area with a table, stools and equipment of theirs. They approach with caution. One of them grabs the bloody pliers.

"What the fuck…?" The second man said as he picks up the pliers.

"It's a bullet." The first man said in surprise.

A bullet is something none of the men were expecting to see in their hideout. The first man pulls out a sidearm from his jacket. The second man pulls out his concealed knife. The third man grabs a board of wood that's nearby. The men are prepared and ready to face whoever may still be in the building.

They continue to follow the drops of blood on the floor. It leads them into an area in the back. But the trail suddenly ends.

"You see any more blood?" The first man asked.

"No, the trail is gone." The third man answered.

The second man leans against a wall. He finds this search to be boring and pointless. Then he hears a creak. But before he can turn around, a hand punches through the wooden wall and grabs him. Apocalypse pulls the second man into the wall as he breaks through it. The second man slams into the wall to the left of the newly created hole. With his free hand, the escaped prisoner throws a cinder block at the only real threat in the room; the man with the sidearm. The cinder block slams into the first man's head. The force of the blow causes major damage and immediate death. The only gun falls to the floor and slides under a table.

The third man attacks the massive person with his weapon; a board of wood. Apocalypse catches in the board of wood in his hand.

"Pathetic insect…" Apocalypse said as he grabs the man by the throat.

As he's been choked, the man takes out a concealed knife with his free hand. The escaped prisoner grabs the man's hand before he can do anything else. Apocalypse pushes the man's knife into his own arm. The man watches as his knife digs into the massive person's left arm and shows absolutely no emotion from it at all.

"Who the fuck are you?" The third man wondered.

"I am the one who will bring a new order to this world." Apocalypse stated in a creepy voice. "A new order where weak, pathetic insects like you are no more. The world has become overrun with the weak. In order for the strong to prevail, the weak must be destroyed. And I am the destroyer."

"You're nuts!"

"No…" He said. "I am Apocalypse."

Apocalypse crushes the man's neck. Then he releases his grip. The dead body falls to the floor.

The escaped prisoner turns around. He walks to the second man who is lying on the floor near the hole in the wall. Apocalypse grabs the man by the ankles. With keeping hold of the man's ankles, he whips the man against walls and support columns. Blood splats out in all directions as the body becomes more and more damaged with every single impact.

Finally, after dozens of impacts with solid surfaces, Apocalypse throws the dead body at the wooden wall. The body crashes through the wall and Apocalypse walks away.

Meanwhile, Sarah McGee drops her brother off at an office building on her way to school. McGee looks up at the five-story building and takes a deep breath. He's never seen a therapist before, but feels there's no other option. He needs help dealing with the aftermath of what happened three weeks ago.

McGee limps off the elevator onto the fifth floor. He eventually enters into a waiting room where he sits down and quickly becomes anxious at the sight of a person sitting across the room. The person is twirling her hair while rocking back and forth. The woman looks up, continues to rock back and forth and just stares at McGee. With the weird lady staring at him, McGee becomes uncomfortable and wants to leave but knows he cannot. The therapist had an opening due to a cancellation which could've been given to an established client instead of a newcomer. So he knows it would be rude of him to leave.

After a couple minutes, a door opens. A person walks out and the secretary calls in McGee. He enters into a room where a woman is sitting on a chair. She stands as he limps into the room.

"You must be Timothy McGee…" The therapist begins to say. "I'm Marilyn O'Desky. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too." McGee said nervously.

"Come, sit down." Dr. O'Desky said as she sits down in her chair.

McGee sits down on the couch across from her. There's a small table between the two pieces of furniture.

"Relax, put your feet up and take your shoes off if you want." Dr. O'Desky said.

"I've never done this before." McGee said. "How do we start?"

"Why don't you start by telling me why you're here."

"A friend suggested I seek help. So here I am."

"The important thing about seeking help, is realizing you need it."

"I know I need help." He said. "I'm losing control of my life. Just this morning I basically destroyed my apartment."

"Why do you feel you're losing control?"

"It's because of what happened three weeks ago." He said. The explanation goes no further.

"But you don't feel like talking about it." Dr. O'Desky said after reading his body language. "That's alright, Timothy. Therapy takes time. And trust is a big part of it. If a client doesn't trust their therapist and feel comfortable with them, then there's no way the therapist can help. So let's work on that first."

"Alright."

As McGee's therapy session progresses, Jamie enters into an empty coffeehouse. She looks up at the menu trying to figure out what she wants because she's also a bit hungry. Upon making a decision, Jamie approaches the counter where a lone worker has been patiently waiting.

"How may I help you?" The worker asked.

"Medium coffee, black. No milk, no sugar." Jamie answered. "And I'd like a bagel with cream cheese."

Not too long after placing the order, the worker punches the information into the cash register.

"That'll be $5.21." The worker said. Jamie opens her purse.

"This one's on me." Jared said as he forks over a ten dollar bill for the worker to take.

The worker extends his arm to take the money but Jamie quickly puts her own ten dollar bill into his hand.

"Alright, so you're definitely still mad at me." Jared said.

"If you don't leave I'm calling the police." Jamie stated.

"Is this man bothering you, Ma'am?" The worker asked.

"Yes." Jamie said. "He's harassing me." Then she walks away.

"I'll have to ask you to please leave, Sir." The worker stated in a firm tone of voice.

"Butt out pip-squeak." Jared said as he reaches over the counter, grabs the worker and slams his head into the cash register. The worker falls to the floor unconscious.

"Oh, that's real mature of you." Jamie said agitatedly.

"You need to listen me…" Jared begins to say.

"I don't have to listen to a damn thing you say!" Jamie yelled. She walks back to the counter and to the other side.

"I had nothing to do with what happened three weeks ago." He stated.

"I'm not playing your games anymore." She leans down and checks on the worker. With feeling a pulse and seeing the head wound isn't serious, she feels relief. Jamie looks up and glares at her uncle.

"Oh come on, it's not like I killed him." Jared said. "He'll wake up with a bump on the head, a minor bruise and a headache. It's no big deal."

"It is a big deal. You just can't seem to get it through your thick head that our friendship… If you can even call it that… Is over after what you put me and my friends through."

"I swear on my life, I had nothing to do with it." Jared defended himself. "I'm the one who saved you all from it."

"This conversation is over." Jamie said as she walks out from behind the counter.

"Like hell it is…"

Jared grabs his niece by the arm. She starts to struggle with him. But due to her weakened condition of healing injuries, she's unable to fight him off. He pushes her against the wall. A little bit of blood appears on Jamie's shirt on her left side; a couple stitches broke.

"Ah…" Jamie sighed.

"Shit…" Jared said. "I didn't mean to do that."

"Just like you didn't mean to stick me in a death trap."

She pushes him away.

"I don't know what I have to do to convince you I had nothing to do with it."

"Then how did you know where I was?" Jamie asked. "Care to answer that one."

"Gah…" Jared sighed. He hesitates because telling the truth could hinder his future plan of killing millions of people with a deadly, genetically altered virus. There are only two choices for him; let it be known he was involved with Geoffrey Benson's organization, or, lose the only real human connection he's ever felt. The dominant side makes the choice. "I can't explain how I knew. But…"

"Ha!" She laughed. "A likely answer. Now get out of my way." She tries to walk away but her uncle grabs her by the arm again. They struggle. "Let go! You're hurting me."

After a brief struggle, Jamie's back slams hard against the wall. Before she can recoup from the impact, Jared plunges forward. He quickly places one hand on her chin and the other on the back of her head. In one quick swoop, Jamie's neck is broke. Her body falls to the floor.

"You're fantasizing about killing me right now, aren't you?" Jamie wondered.

"No, I'm not." Jared responded.

"I'm still waiting for an answer as to how you knew where I was."

"I can't explain how I knew."

"Ha!" Jamie laughed. "A likely answer. Now get out of my way." She pushes passed her uncle and walks away. "And leave me alone while you're at it."

As his niece walks away, Jared thinks about the fantasy of breaking her neck. Jamie not believing him finally takes its toll. The serial killer side is starting to consume the only bit of real humanity he ever felt. During their friendship he might have subconsciously thought she could help him. But with her now walking out on their odd friendship, it feels like every other time someone gave up on him. Jamie leaving angers him. Their odd friendship vanishing into the darkness has a devastating impact. An impact which may prove to be fatal for her.


	15. Chapter 15

***Chapter 15***

At NCIS Headquarters, the team worked diligently with contacting anyone who used to know Apocalypse as a child. They're particularly interested in finding those who made fun of him about his name Marien. The plan Agent Cole came up with is a long shot, but worth trying.

"Okay, thank you for your help." Tony put the phone down. "Yeah, big help that person was." He runs a line through the name. The list is a rather long list in which he has many more to contact. "How are doing over there?"

"I've gotten half-a-dozen answering machines." Ziva said. "I would rather be back in the field with Lewis than to be stuck here doing desk work."

"That's the privilege of being the boss. He can swap places with you if he wants." Tony commented. "If it's any consolation, I'm sure Gibbs is enjoying the field." He grins cheerfully and Ziva glares at him for it.

"I have a package for Special Agent Cole." A delivery man stated upon entering into the bullpen.

"Here." Samantha raised her hand. The delivery man approaches her desk.

"Sign here." He holds a form out for her sign.

After signing the form, the delivery man leaves. The sight of the package on Agent Cole's desk intrigues Tony. He wants to know what it is. He has to know.

Tony stands up and inches closer to Samantha's desk.

"You can open it if you want." Samantha said.

"Okay." Tony snatches the package. Ziva shakes her head at the sight of a grown man acting like a child opening a present. With the package open, he reaches inside and pulls out what's inside.

"I remember this thing." Tony stated at the sight of the familiar collar.

"What's that?" Ziva wondered.

"It's a specially-made shock collar we need to get around Apocalypse's neck in order to subdue him." Samantha stated. "It's the same collar he swore when at the prison, The Last Place on Earth. The collar does two things… It emits a high voltage shock and it helps increase the electrical signals in the brain, which for someone with Apocalypse's condition, is what we need to subdue him."

"If the plan is to get this around Apocalypse's neck, then we're screwed." Tony commented as he holds the collar and plays around with it.

"I never said it was a perfect plan." Samantha said.

"Hey, check it out." Tony said as he opens the collar and puts it halfway around his neck. "My wife bought me this collar for Christmas because she thinks I'm her bitch." He laughed. The collar's strong magnets cause the back end to close and lock around his neck. "Oh shit…" He tries to pull the collar off.

"Wait, Tony! Don't…" Samantha tries to say but it's too late. Tony receives a shock and falls to the floor.

"Gibbs isn't going to like the fact that Tony is lying down on the job." Ziva stated as she stands up and looks at the unconscious Tony lying on the floor in the middle of the bullpen.

"Well… At least it was on the default settings." Samantha commented. "He'll be fine in a couple minutes."

A minute later, Jamie enters into the bullpen and immediately sees her husband lying on the floor. Worry and concern set in.

"What happened to my husband?!" She kneels down to check on him.

"He stupidly put a shock collar on without knowing how it works." Ziva commented.

"He'll be fine though. Maybe feel a little flimsy when he wakes up, but otherwise fine." Samantha added. "I tried to warn him, but…"

"You're sure he'll be fine?" Jamie asked.

"Yes." Samantha answered.

"Okay, good." Jamie sighed in relief as she gently strokes his hair in a caring way. "Now where can I get one of these?"

"It'll set you back a couple thousand dollars." Samantha stated. "Or you can bill it to NCIS like I did."

"It'll be worth the cost to give it to him as a Christmas present. I need to keep my bitch in his place." Jamie said as she knows Tony mostly likely mentioned something along the lines of that. She knows him well.

Eleven minutes pass.

Tony awakes on the floor in the middle of the bullpen. The grogginess he feels is enough that he can't even lift his head at first.

"Ugh…" Tony sighed. "Okay, I'm never doing that again."

He slowly gets up and stumbles into Gibbs's desk, causing a couple things to fall off. One of things to fall off is a computer monitor which breaks upon impact with the floor.

"Oh no…" He looks around the bullpen. "One of you take the wrap for this."

"Not a chance." Ziva stated.

"Wouldn't be good for me when trying to get on Gibbs' good side." Samantha said.

"What are you talking about?! He doesn't have a good side." Tony commented. He looks to Jamie who is sitting at his desk working phone calls from his list. "Babe…"

"Don't babe me. I'm not barking up that tree." Jamie said. "By the way, the collar suits you perfectly."

"Take this thing off." Tony flimsily stumbles to Samantha's desk.

"Umm…" Samantha sighed slightly as she doesn't exactly know how. "Give me a minute." She grabs the instruction manual.

"Oh, come on!" Tony exclaimed as he wants the collar off from around his neck.

"You can always try taking it off yourself…" Ziva stated with a grin upon her face. "Again."

"Haha!" Tony chuckled sarcastically. "I don't think so."

Gibbs and Lewis step off the elevator. Their efforts to track Apocalypse proved to be unfounded after discovering the three bodies in the abandoned building.

"Nice collar, Bro." Lewis said upon entering into the bullpen. "I guess Jamie finally put you in the doghouse."

"Ha ha ha…"

"The collar is a good look for you, DiNozzo." Gibbs stated as he also enters into the bullpen. He stops in his tracks while Lewis sits down somewhere due to exhaustion. "Why is my stuff on the floor and my monitor broken?" He immediately looks toward Tony.

"I… I have a perfectly good explanation." Tony said nervously. He points to the side, toward his own desk where Jamie is sitting. "She did it."

Gibbs smacks Tony on the back of the head. Due to the jolt of the smack and Tony scrunching his neck from it, the collar gives him a slight shock.

"Ah!" Tony cried. "What the f…" He sees Gibbs glare at him to refrain from swearing. "…I was going to say flubber." Tony turns back to Samantha. "Get this thing off me."

"I have to get him one those." Gibbs stated as he turns to his own desk.

"So the plan is to get that collar around Apocalypse's neck?" Lewis wondered.

"Yeah…" Tony chuckled. "It's a great plan, eh."

"Oh yeah, definitely." Lewis said sarcastically. "And maybe if we ask him politely, he'll put it around his neck himself."

With the entirety of the team in the bullpen, they start to discuss the long shot plan of how they'll get the collar around Apocalypse's neck.


	16. Chapter 16

***Wednesday***

***Chapter 16***

After the most recent destruction left behind by Apocalypse, the team is able to track him to location near the old docks. The FBI is aware of their plan to subdue the escaped prisoner and bring him into custody. But the team only has one shot before the FBI raids the area and shoots the target on site.

With everyone remaining outside the largest abandoned building, Gibbs and his brother Jared go in by themselves. Due to Gibbs' past interaction with Apocalypse, he has the best chance to draw the escaped prisoner out into the open.

"This should be fun." Jared stated as the two of them enter into the building. "I'm so excited. I always wanted to meet Apocalypse."

"Only you would look at Apocalypse like a celebrity." Jethro said.

"Hey, the man is a natural treasure."

"You better not fuck this up."

"I'm hurt, brother." Jared said. "To think you don't trust me, your own flesh and blood. It hurts. It really hurts." There's a brief pause. "It's not like I blame you for being born and fucking up my life. Oh wait… I do blame you, never mind."

The two of them walk further into the abandoned building. They do so cautiously, though, Jared isn't as cautious because the thought of meeting Apocalypse is a high for him. But unfortunately for Gibbs, his brother has the collar in his possession as it'll be up to him to put it on the target.

Gibbs finds the escaped prisoner on the second floor looking out a window. Apocalypse is standing still as if he's lost in a daze of deep thought. Gibbs cautiously approaches as he's unsure to how the escaped prisoner will respond to seeing him again.

At the sound of a little creak, Apocalypse's attention draws to the side. His head slowly turns and catches glimpse of Gibbs approaching. A sinister smile cracks upon his face. Then he turns back to the window.

"The world is full of insects, Death." Apocalypse said with referring to Gibbs as Death; the first of Four Horsemen of Apocalypse.

"I've been looking for you, Master." Gibbs said as he must play his part in Apocalypse's wrapped reality.

The escaped prisoner turns and grabs him by the throat. After examining the look in Death's eyes, he lets go.

"We must prepare for the day of reckoning. There are many insects to be destroyed." Apocalypse said. "Come, Death. We have work to do."

"Yes, Master."

The escaped prisoner walks away. Gibbs follows and is relieved to be alive since Apocalypse could've easily crushed his neck. They make their way to the first floor.

"I have something to show you, Master." Gibbs stated. Apocalypse turns around. "Before we destroy the pathetic insects out there in the world, I have an insect here, just for you. I found who you've been looking for… Marien Greyson."

"Where?"

"Right this way."

Gibbs leads Apocalypse toward the far end of the large abandoned building. He leads the escaped prisoner to an open area where the rest of the team is waiting in the shadows.

"Where is he?!" Apocalypse yelled.

"Haha! Little girlie Marien is wearing suspenders!" Tony comes out laughing at Apocalypse.

"And look at her hair!" Samantha comes out, points and laughs at Apocalypse.

"Aren't girls supposed to wear dresses?" Ziva also comes out and laughs at Apocalypse.

"You throw like a girl, you look like a girl… You are a girl!" Tony laughed.

"Marien is a girl's name!" Ziva exclaimed.

"You're such a girl, Marien!" Samantha exclaimed. "You're mommy's little princess."

"Marien the little girlie boy!" Gibbs joined in.

Apocalypse begins to have flashbacks as the three of them continue to make fun of him using the exact words from his childhood tormentors. It's all coming back to him. The last surviving member of his family is himself. He is Marien Greyson.

"No, no…" Apocalypse said.

"Check out the girl!" Tony laughed. "Where's your dolls, girl?"

The helplessness caused by the flashbacks reduces Apocalypse to a mental state of utter confusion. He stumbles toward the side as he's unable to tell reality from flashbacks.

"Now Jared!" Gibbs yelled for his brother while the others continue making fun of Apocalypse.

Jared comes out a couple feet away from the escaped prisoner. With the collar in hand, he stops his approach toward the helplessly confused Apocalypse.

"Jared!" Gibbs exclaimed. His brother looks to him.

Gibbs, Tony, Ziva and Samantha continue the torment while Jared finally approaches the escaped prisoner from behind. While Apocalypse is on his knees, Jared quickly tries to wrap the collar around his neck.

Apocalypse's mind snaps out of it before Jared could close the collar. The escaped prisoner grabs the man on his back and throws him. Jared flies through the air and slams into a couple barrels.

Apocalypse stands angrier than ever and with the intent of laying waste to the insects of the room.

"Oh shit…" Tony sighed. "What's plan B?"

"Run!" Gibbs shouted.

The escaped prisoner advances while the team runs away. Gibbs grabs the collar near the barrels Jared slammed into. With seeing his brother hurt on the floor, he can easily just leave him there for Apocalypse. But a snap decision causes Gibbs to help his brother; Jethro always felt guilty that their uncle saved him from their abusive father and left Jared behind. For Gibbs, even though he's no longer in the Marine Corps, the saying goes 'Once a Marine always a Marine.' And a Marine leaves no man behind, no matter how messed up they are.

Gibbs drags his brother away from the area with the pissed off Apocalypse. After a while, Jared stands on his own two feet and shoves his brother to the side. Jethro slams against the wall.

"Don't think what you did makes any difference between us." Jared stated in a firm tone of voice.

"I'm sure as hell not going to start inviting you over for barbeques." Jethro said.

The two brothers stand in each other's face ready to start whaling on each other. The bad blood between them runs deep. And one of these days it'll all come crashing down. But for now, there are bigger things to be concerned about.

Apocalypse rounds a corner a couple feet away. His eyes widen at the sight of the two people in front of him. They look so much alike. But it doesn't matter to him. The escaped prisoner advances with the intent to destroy. Jethro and Jared run.

The team only has two choices; call in re-enforcements who will shoot the target on site, or, devise a new plan to get the collar around Apocalypse's neck. Either way, the hunt inside the large abandoned building is on.


	17. Chapter 17

***Chapter 17***

With Apocalypse on the hunt, the team tries to find each other since they're spread about the abandoned building. The escaped prisoner searches diligently for the insects he seeks to destroy for their attempt to stop him.

"Ziva, over here." Tony said from a hiding spot. She approaches.

"Where's Gibbs?" Ziva wondered.

"We don't know." Samantha answered.

"We need to find him before Jared throws him to the wolf." Tony stated.

The three of them set out on their search for Gibbs while remaining cautious of the possibility of running into Apocalypse.

Eventually, they find Gibbs and his brother Jared on the second floor.

"Ah man, he's still alive." Tony commented at the sight of Jared.

"You should've left him to die." Ziva added.

"I feel the love in this room." Jared said sarcastically.

"Everyone shut up. I have a plan." Gibbs stated. "We need to get Apocalypse into the processing area on the ground floor. That's where we stand the best chance of getting the collar around his neck."

"Oh come on…" Tony sighed. "Let's just call Fornell for help and get his people in here." There's a brief pause as he realizes what came out of his mouth. "I can't believe I just said that. II feel so dirty now."

"If we use the indoor crane system, we might be able to knock him down which would buy us enough time." Gibbs said.

"If that's your brilliant plan…" Jared begins to say.

"You can launch a large industrial hook at him." Gibbs said. "Or do whatever else your mind comes up with. Just bring him down."

"Oh, you certainly know how to excite me, brother." Jared said with a sinister smile at the thought of what he'll get to do to Apocalypse. "I'd love the challenge."

"DiNozzo…" Gibbs tries to get his attention. "You're the bait."

"Why do I have to be the bait?!" Tony protested.

"It's not debatable, DiNozzo." Gibbs said.

"I need Ziva and Samantha with me. But if you want to ask a woman to be bait, be my guest." Gibbs said.

Tony looks to Ziva and Samantha. From the expressions on their faces, he knows he doesn't stand a chance at getting either of them to swap.

"Ugh…" Tony sighed. "Alright, I'm the bait."

"It's your job to lure Apocalypse to where we need him to be." Gibbs said. "But first, you need to keep him occupied for while to give us time to prepare the area."

"This just keeps getting better and better." Tony sighed in disbelief. "As soon as we get back to NCIS, I'm going down to Human Resources and filing a discrimination complaint against you."

"Go right ahead." Gibbs permits it. "They don't like me down there anyway. They'll enjoy the chance to write me up."

"I'll go with Tony." Ziva offered her assistance. "He might need help."

"Alright, fine." Gibbs said. "Just keep Apocalypse busy."

They split up into their two groups. Jethro, Jared and Samantha to prepare the processing area while Tony and Ziva are to keep Apocalypse occupied and act as the bait.

Tony and Ziva cautiously search the ground floor for the escaped prisoner. Tony finds a hammer and grabs it to use as a weapon just in case. Once they find Apocalypse, they see him move in the direction of the processing area.

"Damn…" Tony sighed.

"Get out there and do something." Ziva said.

"Do what?"

"Wave your arms. Jump up and down. Make noise."

"So I might as well go out there and do jumping jacks."

Ziva shoves Tony out into the open where he bumps into a barrel. The barrel falls over. The noise from the barrel hitting the floor catches Apocalypse's attention. He turns around and stares directly at Tony.

The escaped prisoner starts walking in Tony's direction.

"Give me that." Ziva pops out and grabs the hammer from the frozen Tony's hand. She throws the hammer at the escaped prisoner.

Apocalypse, who keeps direct eye contact with Tony, puts his right hand up and out to the side; he catches the hammer.

"Okay, that wasn't as impressive as it looked." Tony commented.

The escaped prisoner throws the hammer back. Ziva grabs Tony and pulls him toward her. The hammer penetrates through a crate; just missing Tony by a couple inches.

The two of them run as Apocalypse follows in pursuit. They lead him in the opposite direction of the processing area in order to give the others time.

In pursuit of Tony and Ziva, the escaped prisoner stomps on, tosses and breaks through everything in his way. His determination to destroy them for what they did drives a furiousness not felt since he killed his entire family.

Tony and Ziva stop after a while. They looked behind them.

"I think we lost him." Tony said. Seconds later, a large metal object crashes into a nearby support column. The support column cracks.

"Is that an industrial furnace?" Ziva wondered.

"I think you should go out there this time." Tony commented.

Apocalypse approaches a long, stacked wall of crates. He places his hand against it and pushes. On the other side, Tony and Ziva hear a noise and look back only to notice the wall of crates is moving. They run.

"You're the bait he said. It's not debatable he said." Tony complained as they run away.

The wall of crates comes crashing down and all of them break upon impact with the floor. Apocalypse steps into and over the mess.

For a couple minutes, Tony and Ziva keep Apocalypse chasing them until Gibbs gives them the word. Upon receiving the word, they head in the direction of the processing area. The escaped prisoner follows.

Apocalypse enters into the processing area; looking left and right for the insects he's pursuing. But they've disappeared from sight. He knows they're in here somewhere. All he has to do is find them.

As Apocalypse walks further into the processing area, the conveyor system turns on. The noise immediately attracts the escaped prisoner's attention. Then, every other mechanical device turns on. The amount of noise in the area is abundant. But it doesn't concern the escaped prisoner at all. The mission is still the same; find the insects and destroy them.

"Marien!" Jared yelled while holding a chain that leads up into the air.

The escaped prisoner turns around to see the person. Jared smiles evilly as he has looked forward to a moment like this where his prey is an actual challenge.

"I was thinking to myself that we're a lot alike you and I." Jared stated. "Though, I've killed a heck of a lot more people than you have. None of them were ever really a challenge which was always a slight disappointment. But killing you… Now that would be challenge."

"Kill me?" Apocalypse laughed sinisterly. "I cannot be stopped."

"We'll see." Jared said. He whips the chain forward.

"You have to do better than that." Apocalypse said. He yanks the chain; pulling it from its stationary position overhead. A large pile of industrial rubbish falls on top of him.

With the escaped prisoner consumed under the large pile of junk, Jared approaches. He leans in closer.

"I'm sure you can hear me." Jared said softly, but loud enough for him to hear. "There's an easy target running across the walkway overhead." Then he disappears in order to give the escaped prisoner the opportunity.

Apocalypse emerges from the pile of industrial rubbish with blood oozing from a bunch of cuts. He looks upward toward the walkway to see a woman running across.

The escaped prisoner approaches the conveyor belt and kicks the side with massive amount of force. The section of the system breaks. It crashes to the floor. He quickly grabs the section and launches it into the air.

Samantha notices the large section of conveyor belt heading toward the walkway. She turns around. The impact is devastating. The violent shake causes Samantha to floor onto the walkway. The section of the walkway she's lying on breaks. Samantha holds onto the railing as the broken section falls downward and just dangles.

"HELP!!!" Samantha shouted for help as she hangs on for her life.

With seeing what happened and Apocalypse making his way toward the dangling section of walkway, Gibbs runs to help. Jared watches in excitement from his vantage point.

"GIBBS!!!" Samantha shouted at the sight of Apocalypse walking in her direction.

Gibbs runs onto the walkway and without hesitation leaps across the large gap. He lands near the top of the dangling section. Within seconds, he pulls himself up.

Apocalypse is now within seconds of being able to grab the bottom of the dangling section. Gibbs quickly wraps his legs around the closest walkway support. Then he shoves his body over the edge. He reaches for Samantha who tries to reach for him while still holding on. Gibbs can see the fear in her eyes.

The situation causes a childhood flashback in Gibbs' mind; a flashback of the day his five-year-old sister Kelly died by falling from a bridge.

With Kelly hanging from a bar from the side of the old bridge, young Leroy reaches for her.

"Help me, Leroy!" Kelly cried.

"I can almost reach you." Leroy said as his fingers are inches away from being able to grab her. There's only one problem; his arms are too short so as close as he is, is as close as he can get.

"I can't hold on." Kelly cried.

"Don't let go!" Leroy exclaimed as he watches her fingers begin to slip.

Seconds later, Kelly drops.

"Leroy!!!" Kelly screamed as she falls.

Leroy watches in horror as his sister plummets to her death.

With the determination to not allow the same thing happen again, Gibbs extends himself as much as he can. Apocalypse grabs the bottom of the dangling section of walkway and forcibly pulls it. The section comes cashing down. The escaped prisoner looks upward to where the woman is now dangling from the person who betrayed him.

"Hey!" Jared yelled as he runs in the direction with a large industrial hook moving along the indoor crane system. Apocalypse turns around and the hook impacts into him; upper body, shoulder and head.

Directly after impact, Tony and Ziva shove a large wheeled object into Apocalypse. The escaped prisoner falls to the floor. Jared approaches and quickly places the collar around Apocalypse's neck. The collar closes.

Apocalypse grabs the collar and tries to pull it off but he receives a high voltage shock that causes his muscles to spasm too much. He stands up and tries again. But the high voltage and increase of electrical signals in his brain renders him powerless against the collar.

The escaped prisoner stumbles about as he continues trying to pull the collar off.

"It's over Apocalypse." Gibbs said.

But the escaped prisoner continues to struggle with trying to break free of the collar. After several minutes of a valiant effort, Apocalypse stumbles toward an exit. The door opens. He runs out.

Gibbs runs after Apocalypse in order to protect him since Fornell is outside ready to shoot.

Fornell and a couple FBI agents see the escaped prisoner. Without realizing the collar is around his neck, Fornell gives the word to open fire.

"Don't shoot!" Gibbs shouted as he runs out from the door. He presses the button on the remote control and Apocalypse receives a high voltage shock.

As Apocalypse stumbles from the shock, a barrage of bullets head in his direction. Bullet after bullet penetrates into the escaped prisoner.

"Cease fire!" Gibbs yelled while waving his arms in the air. He runs toward Apocalypse.

"Hold your fire!" Fornell ordered. "Stand down, people."

Apocalypse falls to his knees. A burst of blood spews from his mouth. Then he falls forward; face first into the pavement. A pool of blood quickly spreads from his body.

The paramedics Fornell had on standby quickly drive in. They exit from the vehicle and begin to work on the prisoner.

"Good job, Fornell." Gibbs said. He hands over the remote control. "He was under control."

"I didn't know." Fornell said.

Gibbs and the team walk away from the scene. And Jared walks away in his own direction as his part in this is over.

With a full FBI escort, the paramedics rush Apocalypse to the hospital.

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**Author's Note:** There are two more chapters left to this story. So stick around for them.


	18. Chapter 18

***Chapter 18***

Back at NCIS Headquarters, the team sits at their desks writing their field reports while Gibbs is speaking with the Director. The bullpen is amazingly quiet for some reason as they all contemplate what happened not too long ago. They took down Apocalypse, yet, it's not a time of celebration for them.

Gibbs enters into the bullpen and isn't surprised by the quietness; though he rather likes it. He sits down at his desk and sips his coffee.

After and hour of silence, Samantha stands up. She approaches Gibbs' desk and places her report down. Gibbs looks up at her at the sight of a resignation letter on top of the report. The letter of resignation doesn't surprise him at all after seeing the fear in her eyes when she was helplessly dangling. It was a look he's all too familiar with.

"After that experience, I…" Samantha begins to say.

"There's no need for an explanation." Gibbs said as he stands up. "I understand."

"Well, it was nice working with you, Agent Gibbs."

"Good luck, Samantha."

They shake hands.

Samantha approaches Tony's desk.

"I guess this is goodbye." Samantha said. "It was a pleasure working with you, Tony."

"Yeah, it was." Tony said.

They shake hands.

Samantha approaches Ziva's desk.

"Ziva…"

"Where will you go next?" Ziva wondered.

"I think I'm going to go back to the FBI and study criminals." Samantha replied. "It would be safer than field work." She chuckled.

"I wish you the best."

"Thanks."

They shake hands.

Samantha gathers her belongs. Then she walks to the elevator. Tony waits anxiously for the elevator door to open. Once the door opens, Samantha steps into the elevator and the door closes behind her.

"Ding dong! The witch is gone…" Tony begins to sing as he jumps up from his chair in excitement. "Which old witch? The wicked witch! Ding dong! The wicked witch is gone." Ziva looks at him like he's crazy and Gibbs just shakes his head. "What?" He asked. "Come on, let me be happy. That lady was sexually harassing me."

"I highly doubt…" Ziva begins to say.

"She was." Gibbs stated as he knew.

"Ugh, of course you knew." Tony said. "I should've known you were messing with me the other day."

"I know you love my daughter, DiNozzo."

"So you do trust me. That means I can call you Dad now, right?"

"No."

"How about Pops?"

"Only if you'd like to share a cell with Apocalypse." Gibbs responded. Tony and Ziva look toward him from an answer. "Fornell contacted me. Apocalypse is recovering from surgery."

"I said it before and I'll say it again, Apocalypse is a terminator version of Halloween's Michael Myers." Tony stated. "I can't believe he's not dead after being hit by a barrage of bullets."

"Hopefully he does not escape this time." Ziva commented.

Jamie steps off the elevator with Chioke after picking him up from Arthur's apartment. At the sight of Tony, Chioke is overjoyed and runs to him.

"There's my big boy." Tony lifts his son into his lap. "Did you have fun with Arthur?"

'We see…' Chioke begins to sign with his hands but has no idea how to sign the word dinosaurs. He looks across to Gibbs for help who knows they went to the museum of natural history.

"Dinosaurs." Gibbs said as he signs the word for both of them. Chioke looks back to Tony.

'We see dinosaurs.' Chioke signed. 'They big and…'

Tony smiles as his son explains what they saw and did yesterday at the museum. He's glad the kids had fun. And he's glad Chioke had fun staying at Arthur's place last night.

'You always do things for me. My turn to do for you." Chioke signed with his hands. 'I want take you to see dinosaurs. We get in free. Only have to pay for lunch. I pay. I have money.' He continued. 'I really want show you dinosaurs. Take both of you. We go as family.'

"I'd love to go." Tony chuckled slightly. He can't help but smile at Chioke's excitement and kindness of spending his allowance to share the experience with them.

"It's a date." Jamie said with a smile.

'We go on weekend?'

"Saturday." Tony responded. "We'll make a day of it."

Around 10pm at night, Julianna is in the bathroom getting ready for bed. She walks into her bedroom after brushing her teeth. Gibbs enters into the room seconds later as Julianna is climbing into bed.

"Did you brush your teeth?" Gibbs asked.

"Yup." Julianna said cheerfully. She grabs Benny the Horse from the pillow. As she lies down, Gibbs is pulls the covers over her. "I notice Benny the Horse has odd stitching around his neck. Why doesn't it match all the other stitching?"

***Flashback to when Gibbs' sister was four-years-old***

Kelly exits from her bedroom with her favorite toy in her arms. Upon reaching the stairs, her oldest brother Jared stops her.

"Aww, look at the little baby and her stupid horse." Jared grabs the stuffed animal and yanks it from his sister's hands.

"Give Benny back!" Kelly yelled.

Jared holds the stuffed animal as high as he can. He laughs as Kelly jumps up and down trying to reach her toy.

"Leroy!" Kelly cried for her brother.

In hearing his sister call for him, Leroy Jethro opens his door. As the door begins to open, Jared kicks it. The door slams into Jethro. He falls to the floor inside his room with a gash on the side of his face.

"Now that was funny." Jared laughed.

Kelly hits Jared in retaliation for hurting Jethro.

"You little bitch." Jared shoves Kelly into the wall as hard as he can. She hits the wall, falls down and starts crying. "Oh, boo-hoo-hoo." He said sarcastically. "Such a baby."

"Give me Benny." Kelly cried as she looks up at her mean brother.

"You want the stupid horse. Here you go…" Jared rips the head off the stuffed animal and tosses both pieces down in front of her. "There's your stupid Benny."

With Jared walking away, Kelly reaches for her broken stuffed animal. The tears consume her eyes at the sight of her favorite toy in two pieces. Kelly leaves the toy and runs to her room crying. As Kelly's door closes, Jethro finally looks out from his room. Blood slowly drips from the wound on the side of his head. He looks down at Kelly's favorite toy. Sadness quickly sweeps over him.

That night, while everyone is sleeping, Jethro creeps downstairs. In his hand are the two pieces to Benny the Horse. He enters into the back room, turns the light on and closes the door.

Jethro places the two pieces to Benny on the little table to the side. He approaches the small book shelf and scans the titles. In finding the book he needs, he takes it out. Jethro sits down at the small table, opens the book and starts reading.

Eventually, Jethro reaches for his mother's sewing kit. With the book open for instructional purposes, he tries his best to sew Benny's head back onto his body.

After a couple mishaps and an hour gone by, the work is complete. Jethro puts everything away, opens the door, turns the light off and walks upstairs.

He enters into Kelly's room and gently places Benny under his sister's arm.

"Good night, Kelly." Jethro said softly. He leans down and gives his baby sister a kiss on the forehead. Then he leaves the room.

***End flashback***

"That's why the stitching is different." Gibbs said as the story was finished. "I would've done anything for her."

"Your brother was so mean." Julianna said. "But it was sweet what you did for her." There's a brief pause. "I'm sorry she's gone."

"Yeah… So am I." Gibbs said. "It's time for bed."

Julianna lies down and Gibbs tucks her in. After giving her a kiss on the forehead, he walks to the door and turns the light off.

"Jethro…"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Julianna."

Julianna shuts her eyes while holding Benny the Horse in her arms. Gibbs smiles as he looks at her. Then he walks away and turns the hallway light off so she can get to sleep.

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**Author's Note:** There's one more chapter left. It shouldn't take me long to complete it since half of it is already written.


	19. Chapter 19

***Saturday***

***Chapter 19***

At 10:00 in the morning, Tony, Jamie and Chioke arrive at the National Museum of Natural History right when the doors open to the public. They enter into the museum.

'We go that way.' Chioke signed with his hands. Then he points in the direction. 'Learn about where I come from.'

"You lead the way." Tony said.

Chioke walks excitedly in the direction he wants to share with them first. Their first stop is the African Voices exhibit which examines the diversity, dynamism, and global influence of Africa's peoples and cultures over time in the realms of family, work, community, and the natural environment. Tony and Jamie follow as their eager to learn more about their son's homeland, its people and their culture.

After going through the African Voices exhibit and another exhibit, they head to the lunch room. Each of them picks out what they want to eat. As Tony looks at the prices of the food, he becomes concerned about Chioke's feelings. The boy is treating them with his own allowance. But with the cost of parking, which Chioke also insists on paying, the food cost will go over his budget.

"Do you have a pen and paper?" Tony asked of his wife.

"Sure." Jamie reaches into her purse and hands him the items.

As Chioke continues putting what he wants on his tray, Tony quickly writes on the paper. They finally approach the cashier. The lady begins to ring up the items. Chioke reaches into his pocket, takes out his money and waits patiently for the total amount. Tony stands behind Chioke and holds the piece of paper above his head and does everything he can to get the cashier's attention. The lady looks. She reads what's on the paper and nods her head.

"That'll be $8." The lady said. Chioke happily hands her the exact amount.

As Chioke and Tony walk away, Jamie pays the rest of the cost.

"Thank you very much." Jamie thanked the lady.

"You're welcome."

After eating lunch, Chioke continues bringing them to a couple exhibits. The final exhibition he leads them into is where the dinosaurs are located.

The three of them walk into the T-Rex exhibit because Chioke is eager to show them the large dinosaur. With approaching the exhibit, a memory sparks in Jamie's head. From the expression on her face, Tony can tell she's recalling a memory.

"I was here before." Jamie stated.

"Before or after the crash?" Tony asked.

"Before." Jamie answered. "I was here with my mom when I was six-years-old." She looks to the side of the exhibition room at a small bench along the wall. "I wandered off. I was sitting on that bench over there crying because I couldn't find my mom." She points to the bench. "I remember being so scared. But this boy came around and made me feel that everything was going to be fine. He brought me to the security desk where I was reunited with my mother."

With Jamie's story, Tony realizes something that he never realized until now.

***National Museum of Natural History; 1989***

The six-year-old Kelly Gibbs sits down on the bench along the wall near the T-Rex exhibit. Her eyes wander anxiously through the crowd hoping for a glimpse of her mother. In being lost and not knowing what to do, Kelly's eyes quickly engulf with tears.

A fifteen-year-old boy is with his father as they're leaving the exhibit. The boy notices a little girl sitting on the bench crying. He quickly realizes the young girl might be lost. The boy's father, who isn't paying attention as usual, continues walking into the next exhibit. The boy, who is standing in place where he stopped, finally makes a decision; there's no way he can leave the girl all alone. He walks in the direction of the young girl.

The boy approaches the bench where the crying girl is sitting.

"Are you lost?" The boy asked as he sits down on the bench.

"My daddy says…" Kelly begins to say.

"…Don't talk to strangers." The boy said along with Kelly. "Yeah, my dad says the same thing. It's good advice." He said. "My name is Tony. If you're lost, I'll help you find your mom. Or I can sit here and keep you company until she finds you." He offered his help to her. "There's a good chance she might be at the security desk."

"I don't know how to get there." She whimpered.

"I can take you there."

Tony holds his hand out to her. Kelly places her hand into his as there's something about him that makes her feel everything will be fine. They stand up and walk away.

"What's your name?" Tony asked.

"My name is Kelly." She replied.

They walk through the crowd of people while heading toward the security desk near the entrance to the museum. A couple minutes pass before approaching the security desk where Kelly sees her mother talking to a guard.

"Mommy!" Kelly exclaimed in excitement. She lets go of Tony's hand and runs to her mother.

"Kelly!" Shannon exclaimed. She wraps her arms around her daughter. "Don't you ever wander off again. I was so worried about you." She kisses Kelly on he forehead.

"I won't, Mommy." Kelly said. She looks to Tony. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Tony said. "I'm glad I could help."

"Thank you so much." Shannon also thanked him.

"Where are your parents?" Kelly asked.

"My dad is around here somewhere." Tony answered.

"So you're lost too." Kelly said.

"I get lost a lot when on vacation. I'm used to it." Tony stated. "My dad knows to find me at the security desk. I'll be fine."

"Well, we should get going." Shannon said. "Come on, Kelly." She gently takes hold of her daughter's hand. She looks to Tony. "Thank you again."

"It was no problem." Tony said.

"Bye, Tony." Kelly lets go of her mother's hand. She steps forward and wraps her arms around Tony to give him a hug. "It was nice to meet you."

"It was nice to meet you too, Kelly." Tony said. She steps back, takes hold of her mother's hand and smiles at him. "Bye."

Shannon and Kelly walk toward the exit while Tony sits down on a chair near the security desk. As they're walking away, Kelly looks back at Tony who is now sitting and listening to his walkman. She looks back several times until she can no longer see him.

***National Museum of Natural History; present day***

Tony, Jamie and Chioke are walking in the direction of the exit in order to leave the museum. They walk passed the security desk. Jamie notices the chair near the desk; it's the same exact chair.

Halfway to the exit, Jamie stops. She looks back toward the chair near the security desk.

"What is it?" Tony wondered.

"I don't recall what that boy looked like. I don't even remember the boy's name." Jamie said. "But as I walked away, I kept looking back at him sitting on that chair. And all I could think is one day I'll marry that boy. I know it's stupid. But I was young and had my first crush." She said. "For weeks I thought about that boy until I could no longer remember much about him. I obviously never saw him again."

"You thought you would marry him." Tony chuckled slightly over the irony of the whole thing.

"I was six-years-old at the time. And he was a nice boy." Jamie said. There's a brief pause. "Even though I don't really remember him, I hope he's as happy as I am."

"I'm sure he is." Tony said with a smile.

With Chioke raising his arms to be picked up, Tony complies and happily does so. Then Tony places his free hand gently into Jamie's hand. The two of them hold each other's hand lovingly as they exit from the museum where their first true meeting took place. Even though Jamie doesn't know it was him back in 1989, her hope that the boy is happy is true; Tony's very happy. And there's nothing more Tony wants in life than to be right here at this very moment with the two people he loves.

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**THE END**

This concludes the story "Rise of Apocalypse". Coming soon will be the next story in this series. But until then, I hope you enjoyed this story.


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